Kayns Prodigy: A League of Legends Fan Fiction
by catpettingparty
Summary: After Kayn obtained Rhaast he felt he had surpassed Zed. He fled the Order of The Shadows, knowing that he'd have a bounty on his head. He had one option: To truly surpass Zed in creating a greater, more powerful army of Assassins. Though this is a League of Legends based fan fiction, it does contain my own original characters.
1. Chapter 1

She didn't know how she got there. She didn't recognize anyone's voices, and the sigil on her forehead burned so much it was hard to see. All Petra knew was that they hunted her down; They must have tracked her for months. They learned her daily patterns and habits and that is how they captured her. It happened so fast that she didn't even have time to fight back... Petra, a powerful Demon, couldn't defend herself from what sounded like maybe five or six men.

After what felt like days she stopped trying to free herself from the tight restraints that held her barely suspended in the air- really just enough to stretch out her body and make it difficult to gather enough strength to wrangle free. Her wrists were raw and bloodied, and if she struggled any more she may have torn the skin right from her bones. So she stopped, she gave up hope, and she hung there limp and defeated, trying not to exhaust too much energy. Trying not to focus on the constant pain of the repressing sigil on her face.

 _If only she could wipe it off..._ Petra thought frequently. If she could, she'd have killed all of them by now. She imagined killing them all, one by one. She gave her day dreams great detail, so to give her any ounce of hope she could muster up.

"We'll move her in the morning." Petra's head perked up. This was the first voice she'd heard in, well... time seemed to have blended together. It was the first voice she'd heard in a very long time.  
"OK Boss." Another voice replied.  
"Can't we have some fun with her first?" Another voice, this one sounding mischievous and dirty.  
"Hah-hah." The first voice chimed "Ya sure. Why the fuck not?"

Suddenly a rough hand touched Petra's thigh and all at once her body seemed to shrivel back from the touch and the pain that radiated from her forehead and wrists didn't matter any more.

"Don't fucking touch me..." She hissed, her body contorting so he legs were raised in the air, kicking for any sort of self defense she could provide for herself.

"Get her legs!" The dirty one growled. As commanded, Petra felt two arms tightly wrap around her calves and begin to pull down. Their weight ripping at the skin that was hardly left on her wrists. Blood began to rush down her arms, puddling at the ashe blonde hair that sat at her shoulders in knots.

"Get the fuck off of me!" She growled again, this time followed by a blood curdling scream. The dirty one was close to her face now, he didn't speak, but she knew it was him. He was getting off to her struggle, to her screams of terror and anguish.  
"You sick fuck!" She screamed again, her torso wrangling and writhing with every ounce of energy she had left. Tears began to pool at her lower lid, escaping her pitch black eyes between her numerous eye lashes.

Petra felt the hand caress her thigh again, the soft touch sent a sick feeling to her stomach. It was followed by a loud crack and then intense, burning pain which radiated from the outside of her right thigh to the outside of the other. The man had whipped her with something hard and thin, a piece of metal maybe. She screamed in pain as blood bubbled at the new wound then streamed down her legs to the floor.

"Give me a turn." One said, which was promptly followed by another lash across her thighs.

"I will kill all of you. You will all die." She hissed, tears dripping into her mouth as she continued to bark apparently hollow threats.

The men were laughing, and as they each stepped up and whipped her, she could smell booze on their breath. She knew this torture fest would quickly turn into something even more abusive, and Petra braced herself for the unstoppable humiliation.

Time went by in what seemed to be the longest seconds of her entire life. She began to tune out the pain, and eventually the men holding her legs down didn't even have to anymore. Every ounce of hope had been completely shattered and now Petra just waited for the men to begin violating her.

But then everything stopped. The room went from smug, devious laughing to loud murderous screams of terror and despair. Then the world fell silent and lit up with the beautiful stench of death. Petra thought she had blacked out or maybe even died, and right now that was ok.

"I'm going to free your wrists." A gruff voice said, and just like that Petra snapped out of her trance.

"Who's there?" She growled, not like it even mattered.

"My name is Kayn." He said, "I'm going to catch you when I free your wrists or you'll fall. Promise me you won't fight." She felt his hands around hers, prepared to cut her free.

"What're you going to do with me?" She asked, her voice still defensive.

"I'm going to get you out of here." He said firmly "Now tell me you're going to relax and not fight me. I will kill you if I have too." He was aggressive now, but somehow Petra didn't feel threatened.

"Ok, ok. I promise."

Just like that Petra's hand restraints were cut free and her body fell limply into this mysterious man's arms. She still couldn't see anything, but she could feel him, the size of his body, the long hair that tickled her face as he carefully adjusted her in his arms.

"We're leaving now, I'll remove the sigil when when we arrive at our destination."

"You can't, it'll burn your flesh right off your fingertips." She sighed, quietly sinking deeper and deeper into his chest. She felt comfortable here, but then again a bed of rocks would have been more comfortable than dangling above the ground by her wrists for what seemed to be an eternity.

"I think I'll be just fine." He sneered reassuringly. Petra scoffed at his remark and quickly dozed off in his arms. She didn't care where he was taking her, because anything would be better than the hell she just endured...


	2. Chapter 2

Petra woke to the soft hum of an ocean. It seemed so close she could smell the salt like she was standing on a shoreline. She opened her eyes, but to her disdain her vision was still blurred from that blasted sigil those men painted on her forehead to repress her Demonic powers. Then, all at once, her body was overcome with a wave of pain. She let out out a moan in agony and slowly propped herself up on what felt like a bed.

"Careful." A man's voice spoke from across the room "Your wounds have finally stopped bleeding, I don't want to change the bandages again." Petra's hands fell to the soft cloth that was now wrapped around her wrists and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who are you?" She asked again, knowing he had already given her an answer once before.

"My name is Kayn." He spoke, his voice drifting closer to her.

"Yes, you've told me this. But who _are_ you? Why did you save me? How did you know I was captured?" She sat now at the edge of the bed, her legs hanging off the soft edge of the mattress.

"Who I am is not important right now." He began, now standing right in front of her. "I saved you because you sounded like you were being tortured. I found out you were captured when I showed up and killed every last one of them." He hissed. The words left his tongue matter-of-factly.

"But why bother?" She asked "Why stick your nose in a situation like that? For a stranger?"

"Because you sounded angry. You sounded powerful." He was still in front of her, but now he knelt by her knees.

"What are you doing-" Petra became distracted by how close he had become to her.

"I didn't want to clean the wounds on your thighs while you were asleep." He spoke to the sound of water swishing in a bucket. "So now I'm going to clean them. Please don't fight, I'm not trying to assault you." He said quietly, almost ashamed that he had to give that disclaimer and had to clean wounds inflected in such a delicate place on Petra's body.

She didn't say anything. She knew the wounds were grieve and mostly likely needed medical attention hours ago. She knew they would scar no matter what, and in the state she was in now there was no way she could tend to her injuries without assistance. So, bitterly, she accepted his help.

The cold damp cloth touched her thigh by her knee and she couldn't help but to flinch. Petra's body instantly became tense as he carefully pressed the cloth into the first lash wound. Kayn said nothing as he alternated thighs, slowly making his way closer to her torso. The closer he got, the more tense she became.

"Tell me to stop if you should want me to." He whispered. Yet, as he was slowly made his way up to more delicate regions of her body, so tactfully caring for her wounds, all Petra could think about was why this stranger was showing her so much compassion?

"Why are you doing this?" She finally spoke, her body shuddered at her own question.

"Why shouldn't I?" He asked, dipping the rag back into the water and dabbing it on a particularly deep cut. "I am able to, I am willing to, and I would feel wrong not helping you." He said.

Petra didn't reply, because her next comment would only invite pity, and she didn't want or need this man's pity.

He had finally cleaned off the lash marks and wrapped each thigh in a cloth then stood up, still standing in front of her. He intended on freeing her form the binding sigil, regardless of how bad of an idea he knew it was.

"I'm going to unbind you." Kayn spoke "But I need you to know that when your vision returns I will not appear as I am right now."

"How are you going to remove this? And what are you talking about?" Her brow furrowed, confused as to how this man thought he'd remove a sigil that would literally burn the skin off of human bones in an instant.

"I have the ability and strength to do so without harm." He began, his voice sounding quite sure. "I am not an ordinary man."

His voice we slowly becoming deeper, and now Petra could feel his presence much stronger than she could before. Now he was radiating heat, like a fire. His aura went from normal and composed to chaotic and intense.

"What are you?" She whispered.

"Tell me you will not attack me the moment I remove this sigil." The voice grew even deeper, like dozens of men all speaking at once in a large open room.

"What are you?" She insisted.

" _Tell me you will not attack me or I will kill you..._ " He growled, the heat from his body forming beads of sweat against her skin.

"I won't." She agreed, and in that moment she felt a warm and rock hard hand caress her cheek and a thumb press firmly against the mark on her forehead. Her skin sizzled under his touch and the room filled with smoke as Kayn melted the binding sigil off of her body. She winced in pain and instinctively tried to pull away, but he held her face firmly as he continued to work.

Petra's vision slowly began to return and she was shocked to find a Demonic figure standing before her. He was huge, his height almost surpassing the room's ceiling. His skin was dark with varying tones of red mixed with what almost looked to be stone. Kayn was no human- but some type of Demon possessed man.

Again she asked "What are you?"


	3. Chapter 3

For years Petra had lived alone high up in the Ironspike mountains where no one dared to bother her. She avoided the rest of Runeterra like the plague, for it seemed whenever she ventured off her comfortable mountain she was badgered by recruiters seeking goons to fight on the Field of Justice. Petra very well could fight if she should choose too, but her training is scarce and her combat knowledge was even worse. The only thing she had going for her was her immense power and short fuse.

When she was captured for reasons still unknown her lack of combat experience hindered her from escaping. While she was strung up and tortured Petra thought about how if she got out alive she would put forth effort in training and disciplining herself. She felt the consequence of weakness and she never, ever wanted to feel it again... 

"What are you?" Petra asked one last time.

The Demonic being stretched, rolling it's neck in a wide circle then cracking it. "I am a product of the sentient Darkin weapon Rhaast. I have consumed this vessel and now live within it along with Kayn." It's red eyes glowed in the dimly lit room and kept Petra's full attention. "Kayn and I, though two separate entities, work quite well together." The being chuckled, running sharp fingers along the weapon on it's back.

"So you are not Kayn?" Petra asked, eyes still fluttering and adjusting to the room.

"No, I am not." It heaved, a hot breath steaming from it's mouth.

"Did you rescue me? Or did Kayn?" Petra was curious now, and learning the answer may give her more insight into the reason behind her savior.

"We decided to rescue you together." The Darkin paced about the room, glancing out the one and only window adjacent from the bed Petra still sat on.

"So you communicate with each other? And you both heard me and decided to play heroes?" She stood finally, moving towards the window herself. She still did not know where she had been taken.

"Yes, we talk frequently. Though when I have taken over this vessel Kayn tends to have a harder time speaking up." The demon let out a hearty laugh followed by a billow of smoke.

"So then why share?" She asked, pitch black eyes tracing the outside world. She seemed to be in Bilgewater. She had only been here once before, but recognized the the moss covered architecture.

"Because the human Kayn gives me minor solace from my exhausting eternal existence, and in exchange I make him unbelievably strong and immortal. Until I leave his body, he can not die. And to be honest an eternity of boring, _weak_ humans all who have been far too pathetic mentally and physically to wield Rhaast made for a very unsatisfying life. Kayn is... different." The Darkin smiled, a mouth full of terrifying teeth parting for another bellowing laugh.

"I see..." She nodded, her fingertips toying with the edge of her thigh bandages ever so lightly. "Well I'd like Kayn back now." She affirmed, looking the Demon directly into it's blood red eyes. He was not too different from her, she could sense it.

"I did not know you were authorized to make such a demand, girl." He hissed, his tone turning sour quickly.

"I did not know an all powerful Demon cared to speak with me for so long..." Petra retorted, still holding her gaze with the Darkin.

Suddenly his body trembled and the rough red body slowly began to shrink and lose it's pigment. His skin took on a more human-like pale ivory color and the horns atop his head fell into long black locks that reached down past his collar bones. His face flushed of almost all trace of the Darkin save for his left eye, which stayed glowing red. If it were not for this single inhuman feature Petra would have never guessed that this man was possessed by a Demon.

For a moment Kayn Buckled under the intensity of the transition back to his human body. He took a sharp inhale and then relaxed and stood up straight. He flexed his back and arms as if he had never been in this skin before, yet he acted as though he had never been anything other than himself.

"How are you feeling?" He finally spoke making brief eye contact while pulling his long locks back out of his face.

"I'm fine." Petra replied, studying Kayn's muscular body closely. He was quite fit, more so than other human men she had encountered. He must be extremely disciplined to keep his naturally frail human body in the shape it was in.

"You must be hungry." He grinned deviously as he caught Petra's eyes tracing his body.

"I am. Do you have something to eat?" She blushed, immediately trying to shift the subject elsewhere.

"I don't, but I know where we can find something to eat." He glanced out the window and back to Petra. "Follow me,"

Kayn finished gathering his composure and started for the door. Petra's heart sunk, realizing she now had to leave the safety of the room and journey out into a very busy part of Runeterra.

"Is everything ok?" Kayn spoke from outside the room's threshold.

"I still don't know why I was kidnapped." She began, racking all parts of her brain for a back up excuse. To her disdain, she really had no other scapegoat.

"I do, and you don't need to worry about it. You're with us now." He grinned before fleeing her line of sight, leaving an open door to a view of a bustling city under the glow of the moon.


	4. Chapter 4

The two ended up in a dingy tavern tucked away in an extra dark corner of Bilgewater. The building was... quaint, but not exactly a good quaint. It was more teetering on the quaint you'd expect from from a sarcastic back handed compliment. Truthfully, it was just old.

Petra paid close attention to her surroundings and her semi-skitzo savior for signs of malintent. She chose to stick around for now, as there was no indication of impending doom, nor did Kayn make it seem as if she could not leave when she pleased to. So there was really no reason to leave just yet.

Inside the tavern was a buzzed crowd of what could only be Rift fighters. They were singing and dancing and seemed to be celebrating a victory. When Kayn and Petra walked through the door they were promptly greeted by a man handing them each a tall glass of Ale.

"Kayn! You SOB!" The man spoke, a cigar hanging from his lips. "Where were you today?"

"Top secret covert mission, Graves." He replied, grinning while he sipped his ale.

The finely groomed man glanced at Petra, chewing the butt of his cigar for a moment before puffing a cloud of smoke from his nostrils. "Ya... Covert." He chuckled, turning his back on them to join the celebration once more.

"Don't mind him." Kayn said, leading the way towards the bar. "He's upset I didn't fight today."

"You fight? Like on the Field of Justice?" She cocked her head.

"Occasionally. It keeps me sharp." He smiled, sipping at his drink once more.

"Do you both fight?" She asked, curious as to how often the Darkin paid Kayn a physical visit.

"He has a tendency to show up." Kayn admitted. "He enjoys a good fight." His red eye flickered in what she assumed was agreement.

"Are you any good?" She poked, finally sipping her now room temperature ale.

Kayn grinned, his eyes full of confidence. Dozens of wry comments were surely dancing at the tip of his tongue. "You could say that..."

Petra nodded, sipping at her drink. She turned her attention to the folks dancing and hollering. It's been such a long time since she'd seen joy like this from others. Isolating herself for so many years had pulled her away from everyone else's realities. She'd forgotten that joy and celebration was a part of life, and watching everyone have such a grand time was foreign.

Petra snapped out of her haze at Kayn's words. "I don't know your name yet." He spoke, taking the last swig of his drink.

"Oh. Well I guess you don't. My name is Petra." She blushed, realizing how out of touch from common courtesies she truly was.

"Well, Petra, tell me about yourself. You know quite a bit about me and yet I only know you're first name." Kayn smiled. It was like he had traces of human left in him somewhere. It was a reminder that he was only possessed by a demon, and for some reason that was more unsettling that if he just were a demon.

"Well, I'm a Crystalline Demon. I have the ability to grow and manipulate crystals. I imagine that's the type of information you're looking for." She stared at him blankly.

"That's incredible." Kayn seemed genuinely interested. "Show me what you can do." His red eye flickered, almost as if the Darkin were intently listening and watching.

Petra had never needed to preform on a whim, she'd only ever used her abilities when she felt she needed to or when she was ready. Sure she could do it, but she felt a little queasy as the uncertainty of her performance was nerve wrecking.  
"I'm still hungry." She shifted the conversation. "You said there was food here, no?"

Kayn smirked "I did." He raised a hand and a waitress sauntered over. She was a large, muscular, dark skinned woman. Her brown hair sat at her shoulders in thick and developed dreadlocks. She had bright green eyes that gleamed each time the light caught them.

"Kayn." She nodded, a thick and deep accent lacing her tongue. "It's been so long since you've come to see me." She frowned.

"I've been traveling, love. But I'm here now." His eyes softened when he spoke with her.

"You're here with another woman." She scoffed, glancing over to Petra.

"Oh you're not jealous are you, Illaoi?" He also glanced over to Petra.

"I'm surprised you've got the gall to bring another woman in here to me after everything." She had a snarky tone to her voice.

"Oh, love. You can't ask me to halt my life for you. It was one night." He frowned, his finger tips impatiently tapping against the wood bar.

"Mmhmm. What do you want to eat, swine. " she sneered at Petra and carried on.

"Stew is fine. Two, please." He seemed to ignore her attitude.

The large woman disappeared into the back and in moments came back out with two bowls. They crashed down onto the bar in front of Kayn and Petra then the woman stormed off leaving them alone she eat.

Kayn sighed "Sorry you had to hear that." He shook his head, a slight laugh escaping his lips. "One weird night left quite the impression as you can see. " he began shoveling stew into his mouth as if he hadn't eaten in days.

"You seem to be popular. " Petra grinned. She too ate quickly, the difference is this was the first time she'd eaten in days.

She did her best to remain composed, but the meat seemed to melt in her mouth. Any meal she'd ever had prior to this may have well never happened because this slop of a stew hit the spot.

The two ate in silence, Petra savoring every drop. She was so hungry and did her best to pace herself, especially because when they were done eating Kayn would certainly be requesting that she use her abilities.


	5. Chapter 5

Petra found herself standing outside the tavern with Kayn preparing herself to preform on the spot. She'd done it some many times before but never for someone else, and never for no reason.

Kayn stood posted at the door, his arms crossed over his chest. He smiled when she looked over her shoulder, hoping he'd call it off and not wait so intently for her to get to work. But there he stood, eager as ever.

"I've never done this for anyone before." Petra admitted. She crouched down and placed her hand on the ground.

"That's alright. Do your best." Kayn said. He walked closer and peered over her shoulder hoping to get a better look. "I'm sorry to hover but I've never seen a crystalline demon before. Your kind is few and far between."

"It's ok. And I know. Just stay back, I don't want to hurt you." And just like that the ground broke in a crescent around Petra. Stone and brick shattered and dirt pushed out from in between the cracks she had forced. A few moments went by and Petra's eyes began to glow bright yellow, her horns taking on an iridescent aura that radiated down to her skin.

Kayn watched, amazed with what was happening right before his eyes. From the cracks in the ground sprouted layers and layers of translucent, pointed crystals. They rose higher and higher until they were almost then same height as Petra, who was now standing, hands poised and pointed at the crystals.

"Ok. " She spoke. "They're beautiful aren't they?" Her crystals always pleased her, and she was impressed with how nice these came out.

After a few moments of no reply from Kayn Petra became a tad self conscious. She stepped out from behind her wall of crystal and to her surprise found a group of men standing huddled with Kayn in the middle of them.

"Kayn?" She called out. Petra tried to push through the men but was promptly set back.

"You man here isn't coming out of this in one piece. If you know what's good for you you'll turn your head and look the other way." Their tones were dark and angry. They all had masks on that were similar to an assassin's mask.

"What're you talking about?" Petra argued "What did he do?"

The man scoffed "Turn around and leave, little girl."

"What did he do?" Petra persisted. She stood on the tips of her toes to try and see Kayn but was thrown back by the man.

She hit the ground hard, and in that same moment the crowd parted and a man in red with a metal mask stepped forward with Kayn in his grasps. Petra watched as the other man, surely an assassin, lifted Kayn by his neck and toss him into her crystal wall like a rag doll. His body crashed into her creation and shattered it.

"Is this what you came for, Zed?" Kayn grunted, lifting himself to his feet. "To rough me up? Hope that I comeback to you?" He scoffed, regaining his composure. Kayn reached for his weapon but was quickly restrained by men from the crowd.

"I've come to warn you." the other man, Zed, spoke. "You are nothing without that weapon. " He moved very close to Kayn, a gloved hand caressing the blade. "Eventually you will succumb to this toy of yours and it will consume you whole. "

Petra watched Kayn writhe in frustration and annoyance. She was trying to piece together what this group of Assassins wanted with Kayn. Petra waited for something to happen, something to provoke the Darkin. She almost wished it would happen for she wanted a full view of Kayn's true power. She wanted motivation to fight too. She wanted to feel power.

"You're angry because I surpassed you. Don't be so bitter." Kayn spat, his arms strung up like he were being crucified. "You won't even fight me like a man. You need this group of goons to hold me back. You're sc-" Zed lunged forward grabbing Kayn by his throat. He crushed the air flow with his finger tips and Kayn struggled to pull away from his grasp. Petra could hear him gasping for air and something about that sound lit a fire in her stomach.

"You're a fool." Zed growled from behind his mask. "You could have had it all with the Order of The Shadow. You could have ruled with me." He grasped tighter, a yelp escaping Kayn's lips. "But you chose this... Demonic scythe... Over the us. Over me." Zed leaned in very close to Kayn's face " _Foolish child..._ " He whispered.

Quickly Zed released Kayn's throat and reached for Rhaast the Demon weapon, yanking it from Kayn's back and tossing it aside in a huff. Smoke rose from Zed's hands, it seemed as though the weapon burned him. "Now fight me like an Assassin."

Kayn had fallen to the ground, and Petra had remembered what the Darkin had told her. He's only immortal while they are together. And technically, they were no longer together. She watched as he was gasping for air, his throat bruised and red.

"You want to fight me now after you've got your cheap shots in. Typical." Kayn spoke, gruff but still powerful. He was at his feet now, and Petra noticed that his eyes, _both_ his eyes, had taken on a shade of blue. A strand of his hair had turned white and then ice blue. It was as if he were returning to his true human form, that of a powerful Assassin. Kayn pulled two daggers from his boots and took on an aggressive stance. "Is this how it's going to end, friend?"

She looked on as Kayn lunged at Zed, striking at his chest. The two moved so quickly they were hard to keep track of. The crowd had spread out and stepped back so the two could duke it out. The tavern had even come out, the commotion surely too tempting.


	6. Chapter 6

In minutes the two assassins were covered in blood, each taking shots at each other. They seemed to be speaking as they fought, but she couldn't make out their words over the loud cheer of the crowd who seemed to expect this type of thing. It looked like some were even making bets.

Petra had raised herself to her feet and circled around everyone, watching cautiously at the intense brawl that was Kayn and Zed. Were they really going to fight to the death? Surely no one from the tavern would allow it. She found the man, Graves, from earlier and in obvious concern and urgency approached him.

"Are you going to let this continue?" She yelled, searching his face for emotion.

"Sweetheart you don't mess with Zed and the Order of The Shadow. Kayn had this coming for a _long_ time." He stuck another cigar in his mouth and lit it, as if he were enjoying his comrade's bloodshed.

Petra's eye grew wide as she began to realize that no one here had any plans to step in, and if Kayn were to begin to falter it would be her who stepped in. Currently the fight seemed neck and neck, but it had sounded like Kayn was Zad's pupil, and unless he had actually surpassed him on his own Petra felt uneasy anxious with the idea of already loosing her new friend.

And as if on queue, Kayn had missed an attack and was sent crashing into the ground. He glanced up to Zed who flicked his blades of Kayn's blood before walking over to where he had landed. Kayn couldn't stand back up, and frantically scrambled, dragging his exhausted body towards Rhaast which laid only a few feet away.

"You did not surpass me," Zed hissed "Your strength is artificial and temporary." He had walked past Kayn and was now stepping on his hand that had reached out for Rhaast. "Do you have any final words?"

Petra knew what she needed to do, and knew the consequences would be dire and certainly life threatening. But she needed to make a choice, and by her own will she felt she needed to step in. Thinking quickly she summoned the crystal shards that had been destroyed earlier and with all her power sent them high into the air. Her eyes glowed bright as she lunged forward, knocking Zed back from Kayn and kicking Rhaast to him.

Zed had fell backward, but in a gust of wind rose himself and flashed behind Petra. Two blades extended from his hands and cut down her back as she darted forward, just leaping from his grasp.

"Fool!" He yelled, again flashing at her, a shadow mimicking his ever move.

She stood still as both figures dived, but just as they happened upon her the crystals she sent into the air came crashing back down around her piercing Zed's shoulder, making the shadow copy dissipate as fast as it appeared.

By this time Kayn had reclaimed his demon weapon and the Darkin had come out to play.

"You are the fool!" It growled, voice deep and dripping with terror. He leaped forward, swinging the scythe in a wide circle that hit Zed, knocking him far back. The crowd was riled up, shocked at the turn around. Zed's group of Assassin's seemed to be just as shocked as they all rushed around the Darkin, taking shots at him in effort to protect their leader.

Bodies flew into the air and went crashing in to buildings, and the crowed roared. The Darkin was single handedly demolishing the entire group and soon they realized they were no match. The demon was about to execute the man who stood in front of their fallen master when Zed spoke out.

"Enough!" The crowd went silent. "I will not fight you." He climbed back to his feet, holding his impaled shoulder. "I'll be back when Kayn is ready to fight me, man to man." He growled.

"Yes, yes. Run away with your tail between your legs." The Darkin toyed "We are one, I am Kayn and Kayn is me. He has earned the right to wield Rhaast, unlike you." Smoke billowed from the Darkin's mouth, eyed glowing red.

"That is your loss." Zed replied, gathering his men to his side. "This won't be the last you'll see of Me, Demon. I will come back and I will kill Kayn."

They began to back off, not breaking eye contact with the Demon until they had completely vanished into the shadows of Bilgewater. The crowd had fell to silence, quietly retreating back into the tavern as if nothing had happened. It was instances like this that reminded Petra why she despised humanity.

After she came back to reality and confirmed the coast was clear she rushed over to the Darkin, who stood silently, shoulders bounding up and down with each breath it took.

"Are you alright?" She asked, realizing it was a silly question.

"I'm fine, It's Kayn you should worry about." The Darkin's voice was low and unsteady, as if he himself had seen his life flash before his eyes.

Within only a moment their body began to from back into that of a man and Petra began to recognize Kayn once more. He fell to his knees, the scythe weighing heavy in his hands. Blood covered his human body and the wounds were still bleeding.

"Kayn," Petra dropped to her knees as well, searching for the beginning and end of his wounds.

"I'm fine." He growled, air barely flowing through his lungs. She could hear him weaving softly.

"You're not, let me help you up." She put her arms under his and went to lift him but was promptly pushed back.

"Don't. Not here. Let me suffer on my own." His words were barely above a whisper. He struggled to raise to his feet and when he did, he leaned against Rhaast for balance.

"Kayn," She said again, hands hovering just about his arm skin, ready to catch him if he falls.

"Back. Off." He hissed "I'm fine. Let go back to out room."

Petra was silent for a moment. She watched him limp off in the direction of their room and with all her will power she held her tongue. Although it seemed as though Kayn won, or- the Darkin won, he was still unhappy and defeated. She silently followed him around the corner, the darkness leaning closer and closer in as the moon rose higher and higher. The city was quiet, and as they came upon their stop, Kayn entered the room, and it had seemed like nothing had even happened...


	7. Chapter 7

The bedroom was warm and silent. Neither Kayn nor Petra said a word for almost an hour. She had received his message loud and clear, he needed to lick his wounds in silence. He needed time to regain his composure.

Petra posted herself at the window, eyes tracing the shape of shadows as they returned home for the night. She did her best not to pay attention to Kayn's quiet defeat, as the frustration and embarrassment radiated off of him like bad cologne.

After some time passed he finally spoke. "Zed raised me. " he whispered "he took me in and he taught me everything he knew. He shaped me into the assassin I am. Or, was..." he trailed off, struggling to lift himself from the bed.

"Please, don't get up. " she moved over to him, sitting at the foot of the bed, keeping a safe distance. The blankets had been soiled in his blood, and she felt compelled to clean his wounds as he did hers.

Petra pulled the same bucket he used earlier over and pulled out the rag, ringing it until it was barely wet. Kayn looked on in silence. He didn't stop her, and instead braced himself for the sting of the water as she dabbed at the gash on his arm.

"Why did he come after you? What did you do?" She asked, carefully moving the up, wiping blood away from his chin.

"He demanded rhaast for himself. I was sent out to retrieve it, and instead left with it. " Kayn admitted, wincing in pain as Petra wiped away at a deep cut on his forehead.

"But he wouldn't have been able to wield rhaast anyway, he pulled it from your back and burned his hand. " she cocked her head, still cleaning the wounds around his face and neck.

"I am the only one able to wield rhaast. " he confirmed "Zed is angry because rhaast makes me far stronger than he will ever be."

"So he wants you dead?" She asked, moving down to the largest wound that crossed the entirety of his chest. "We should cauterize this. It's very deep." Petra quietly spoke.

"Yes, he wants me dead. If he can't wield the power of the Darkin, no one can. " Kayn glanced down at his chest, his hand tracing the deep cut. "It will heal." He spoke.

"But how soon? Will this be a gaping wound for an hour or a week?" She still tended to it, wiping the blood away diligently.

"I don't know. I was human when it was inflicted. It may heal at a human pace. " Kayn admitted.

"Then we should cauterize it. " Petra stood, looking around the room for metal. She found on of Kayn's daggers and lifted it over the flame of the bedside candle. She held it there for a few minutes, the blade slowly turning red.

"Thank you for defending me." He said, thoughtful eyes meeting with Petra's. "You didn't have too, especially because you yourself were weak. "

Petra shrugged "Now we're even. " she smiled. "Now stay still, this is going to hurt. "

Kayn laid back, grasping a handful of Petra's dress. He pursed his lips and braced himself. "Alright. Do your worst."

She leaned in, the hot blade smoking from the humidity of the room. She touched it to the bottom of the wound and watched as Kayn's body contorted as he heaved in immense pain.

"Stay still." She demanded, pulling the cooled down blade from the burnt skin and holding it over then flame once more.

Petra did this several times, working her way up his chest. The room filled with the awful scent of seared flesh as the wound slowly closed. Kayn's body stiffened each time the blade touched down, his grip on her dress pulling her closer and closer.

"Alright. Last one. " She leaned in close and sealed up the last of his wound. All that was left now was a large burn that would surely scar if the demon side of him didn't compensate for it.

Kayn's body pressed back, deep into the bed and Petra watched as he took deep breathes in and out.

"Thank you. " He managed out, slowly relaxing his muscles. "Now we're even."

"Yes. Now we are." She smiled, running the damp rag over the wound to relieve the sting he surely still felt.

The room was quiet for a moment. Neither had anything else to say regarding Zed. Kayn had summed it up, and it was clear to Petra that he would most likely fight Zed for the rest of one of their lives.

The silence was broke by a question. "You know you're free to leave, Petra?" He spoke. "I rescued you for your own well being, not to recapture you. "

"Yes. I know. But I'm not sure I want to leave. I'm not sure where I'd go now that my home has been compromised. " she still sat at the edge of the bed, her small hands toying with the damp blood soiled rag.

"Let me train you. " Kayn spoke "Let both of us train you. You could be so strong. " his words sounded pure and the offer had been exactly what Petra had promised herself she'd do when she was still in captivity. She wanted to learn to fight. To defend herself self.

"Ok. " She looked at him, at his eyes. She found traces now of both Kayn and the Darkin. She couldn't decide which was the stronger presence.

Kayn's face lit up, a smile stretching from ear to ear. This was it, his army had started. He no longer had to fight by himself. He could fight now with a partner, one he believed would be very strong.

"We'll move tomorrow. We need to leave Bilgewater. For now, we should rest. " He started to get up, leaving the bed so Petra could sleep. But she stopped him.

"The bed if big enough for us both. " she said, avoiding eye contact.

Kayn cocked his head, a smirk still lingering on his lips. He pulled himself forward and grasped Petra's chin. Her face hesitantly turned to meet his and the two made brief eye contact before he leaned in and kissed her.

"The bed is big enough, isn't it?"


	8. Chapter 8

They slept back to back, even though the kiss was a welcome one. Truthfully they were in not position to do anything other than sleep as both Kayn and Petra were battered and weak. So they slept, both a tad uncertain with one another. Both silently hoping for the others embrace.

Come day break Kayn had already awoke leaving Petra to rest by herself. He tended to his wounds which sadly were not healing like he had hoped. It seemed the Darkin side of him could only do so much. His cuts and bruises we are numerous. More than he'd like to admit. Unfortunately they were hard to hide as this covered his face, arms, and chest. His neck was a deep shade of purple with hints of blue and yellow. It hurt every time he swallowed or turned his head, and so he did his best to keep his movement slow and minimal.

When Petra woke she too was a mess. Her cuts had scabbed over and made it hard for her to walk normally for if her strides were too long the cuts would reopen sending dribbles of blood down her legs.

The pair was the definition of a sore sight, yet both seemed positive and uplifting. So much so that neither brought up the prior days defeats. Instead, they both looked ahead to plan their leave from Bilgewater.

"We'll travel by boat and get off in Noxus." Kayn planned, laying out a map of Runeterra down on the bed. "The boat ride will take two or three days and if we're lucky there will be a healer on board that we can pay off to help us." He dragged his finger across the map showing their rout.

"And if there's not?" Petra asked.

"Well then we'll have to lay low longer than I'd like. Zed won't expect us to head towards Noxus. So it might buy us more time. "

"And is there a reason why he won't look in Noxus?" Petra questioned, wondering why they would be going into the volatile city.

"There's some rift fighters there who aren't too keen on me. We'll just have to do our best to avoid certain parts of the city. " he rolled up the map and crossed his arms as he anticipated push back from Petra. He was not wrong.

"So we're going to leave one violent city for another?" She asked "that doesn't sound like the best idea."

"Well it's the only place I know Zed won't look. It'll hopefully buy us time to recover and start your training."

Training. Petra nodded, realizing that was now the goal. She pondered for a moment. How in the hell did she get here? Why couldn't she just have stayed in solitude on that damn mountain. Or was a strong and powerful fighter her true self? Was she to become an assassin? Or would she infact die trying? Whatever it was all Petra knew was that somehow Kayn, this stranger that had come to her rescuer, made her feel comfortable and safe. She didn't know him, but she trusted him. She wasn't sure if this was good or bad yet...

"So when do we leave?"

Bilgewater was actually quite beautiful in the sunlight. It was earthy and aquatic and all walks of life crowded the streets. There were merchants selling guns and at that same stand selling Poro snacks. There were large monsters with tentacles and there were small yordles. Humans, robots, mystery creatures. All of them were for some reason in Bilgewater, and that intrigued Petra.

They navigated the streets, cloaked and in silence. The less attention the better, especially if Zed had sent spies to track their moves.

The boat was scheduled to sail promptly at noon and the pair had just barely made it. The captain stood at the dock with his palm out, waiting for his pay and as soon as the gold his hit hand Kayn and Petra were rushed aboard, upbraided for their almost-tardiness.

Aboard the boat was crammed and much less accommodating than expected. The deck had no seats and if you needed to sit the sopping wet floor was the place. For the most part all the travelers kept to themselves, holding their belongings tight to their chess and trying their best to mind their own business. It was clear they had hopped onto a ship full of less than savory characters and all anyone wanted was to get thru the voyage in one piece.

But not Kayn.

"We need to try and find a healer," He leaned close to Petra, peeking out from under the heavy hood that covered his battered face. "If we find one it won't be cheap, but I'm willing to pay the coin."

Petra nodded, tilting her head back slightly to get a view at the others on their ship. "We need to be careful who we ask. A simple question could provoke something that we're trying to avoid." She shifted her weight and propped herself up higher onto her toes, surveying the crowd. "Not to mention I'll be useless if a brawl erupts. I can conjure crystals over water-"

"Don't say that so loud." Kayn interrupted "it's a weakness. Lesson one: don't admit to your weaknesses. We'll work on it later."

He cut the conversation short and grabbed Petra's hand, pulling her towards the back of the ship where Kayn had spotted a centaur looking creature. Not animal, not particularly human. But she had a staff and was obviously a mage, so maybe she could do some healing.

They got close, and he studied her surroundings. She seemed to be alone, and she looked like she was trying her absolute best to sail under everyone's radar. When Kayn approached her, she was quick to cringe and tried to slink away without conversation.

"Wait, wait." He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not interested." She whispered, avoiding eye contact.

"Wait. Please. We're looking for a healer." He kept his hand on her shoulder and tried his best not to loose her in the crowd.

"I'm sorry I'm not interested." She pulled away and began to weave through the boat.

Petra thought quick and darted ahead to cut her off as she realized if she walked any further she would have landed right in the middle of two men arguing.

Petra grabbed her arm and yanked her back, catching the girl in her arms and immediately covering her mouth and pointing at the fist fight that had just erupted.

"Watch where you're going." She spoke, helping the creatures back to her feet. "We're not trying to harm you, but darting off like that in a crowded boat where you're alone might attract some harm." She stood now in front of the girl, making eye contact to ensure she was listening. "We just need a healer." Petra pulled her cloak away from her legs and showed her the scars that were forming.

"Ok." The girl bit her lip, glancing around before taking Petra's hand and pulling her off to the side. Kayn followed in toe.

"I'll heal you, but I expect a favor in return." She spoke, searching the bag that sat at her hip.

"Alright, what do you need?" Petra was doing all the talking. Kayn was simply an accessory at this point.

"I need to get to a friend in the center of Noxus. She's hurt, and I'm not sure why she's there." The girl seemed upset and almost frantic. She pulled a note from her bag and handed it to Petra. "She got this delivered to me. I'm very worried." Her hooved feet clunked from side to side in urgency.

Kayn peered over Petra's shoulder as she red the note. "Captured. Noxus. Hurt. Help. - Lulu" was all it read. It was cryptic, and certainly concerning.

"Who could have taken her?" Petras hands were sweating now, her mind immediately darted to her own capture.

"I don't know." She admitted "but i need to help her."

Petra glanced back at Kayn and he slowly nodded. "We'll help you."


	9. Chapter 9

They had docked just outside Noxus. It took about 36 hours, which was far shorter than anticipated. They discovered this healer's name was Soraka, and for the purpose of being elusive Petra gave Kayn a fake name so to not stir up and ' _I heard of you_ 's. Petra gave Soraka an overview of their situation, and told her that if they were to help rescue her friend she would have to lay just as low as they were. If she needed the help badly enough, which it seemed she did, she would oblige.

Noxus was set up in a circle. The heart of it laid in the very center, and for now that's what they needed to avoid. Kayn, who was going by the name Jack, had led the two girl's to a small home right on the border of the city. It was old and abandoned, Kayn only knew of it because he hid there before while he was trying to lay low, much like he was now. There was one bed, a recliner, a hearth, and just outside was a well. It was humble and hidden, which was all they could risk to have for the time being.

When they arrived it was approaching nightfall and the sun was tucking just behind the tips of the thick trees that had surrounded the home. When it was fully out of sight, the area was dark and unless you were looking for a structure hidden in the forest on the cusp of Noxus, you'd never find it at night.

Inside was dirty and equally dark as outside. They really needed to start a fire, but Kayn forbid it. He wanted nothing to attract anyone to them, and so they'd have to deal with a night of frigid cold. The only concern he had right now was a silent one. He needed to work out a plan for getting into the heart of Noxus to make this rescue without also being caught out by the crew that held a heavy grudge against him. It wasn't going to be easy, and even after he had been healed he considered keeping the hooded cloak. Maybe it would become a permanent part of his wardrobe.

"Ok, Soraka." Petra finally spoke after the trio became as comfortable as they could in the pitch black of a freezing night. "Heal us."

A dim light illuminated the room for a few moments, particles of glowing dust floating around Petra. In a few seconds it was complete and she stretched tall without fear of tearing open a wound. "Thank you." She spoke, fingers running over the skin that would have been scarred.

"Me now." Kayn stood, ready to be fixed. He was tired of hurting, especially since it had been so long since he felt a hurt like it.

"Remove the robe." Soraka said. The room illuminated again.

"What? What wasn't part of the deal." Kayn became defensive.

"I need to know what you look like in order to heal you, I'm sorry." She spat, the light slowly growing dim.

"For fucks sake." He pulled the hood down, a hand smoothing his hair back. His face was a mess, so much so that he felt it didn't even matter that the hood wasn't on. That is, until she healed him.

"I know you." Soraka immediately jolted back, the light her healing magic provided going out.

"Fuck." He growled "Don't let her leave."

"No, I'm not leaving." She blurted quickly before she was tackled by the two. "I know who you are, I recognize your weapon. You're the human chosen to wield Rhaast."

Kayn was silent as he listened to her speak, waiting for the smallest sign of malintent. "And?" He growled.

"And nothing, you've become legendary. You're known all over Runeterra." Her words came as a shock to Kayn. He wasn't expecting fame, and he sure as hell wasn't expecting to be recognized because of it.

"I see. How did you hear of me?" He poked, interested in what she had to say now.

"I was haired to heal a man in Sharima. While I was there a woman was talking about how the scythe had been found and how it was stolen on it's way to Zaun. Everyone was amazed that it had actually gone _missing_ , which we all assumed implied someone had successfully received it's power. A mystic over heard the conversation and said she had a vision while we spoke of Rhaast. She said she saw a man fight an ally for the weapon, and the name that was called out as the ally was executed was Kayn..."

Kayn furrowed his brow and sat down on the dusty bed. Petra joined him, catching a glimpse of his face from the tiniest ray of moonlight the shown thru a hole in the wall. He was at loss for words. He realized that soon inhabitants all over Runeterra would know of him, but he was surprised he was already known by name.

"So I'm not going to cross you, Kayn." Soraka spoke "I don not wish to have a Demon after me."

"Good." Kayn leaned back on the old mattress and stared directly at Petra. Even in the dark she knew he was looking, and in the confidence of the night she blushed wildly.


	10. Chapter 10

Morning came and Kayn woke Petra as soon as the sun peaked through the trees. She tossed and turned, hating the idea of rising for the day, but Kayn urged her to. It was time to start her training.

Outside the air was filled with the sounds of wildlife and the scent of dew covered grass. It was the most peaceful thing the two had experienced in days. Petra relished it for a short moment before Kayn had returned from scoping out the area for anyone watching.

Soraka had awoke and said she would search the surrounding woods for food while Kayn trained Petra. It was handy having a healer with them, it allowed the two to fight with almost no restrictions. Pain was only temporary, and as long as Kayn was disciplined and keep from coming at Petra in full force, he felt he could get enough effective battle training in for them to head into the center of Noxus.

"Alright, Petra." He spoke "I'm going to remain myself, but carry Rhaast with me. Do not hold back, I will heal." Kayn took on a defensive stance and prepared for Petra to fight.

"I-I'm not sure where to start." She spoke, swaying in the morning wind. "I've never had to start a fight."

In only a second Kayn had lunged at her, kicking her legs out from under Petra's body. She hit the ground hard and angrily stared at Kayn who now stood in front of her, his stance more aggressive.

"Are you joking?" Petra hissed, placing her arms under her to lift back to her feet. Kayn dived for her again, flipping her body over so she was on her back.

She got the message, they were fighting now. It was loud and clear, Kayn was _actually_ going to fight her. "You ass hole." She dug her hand into the ground and two large crystals shot up from behind Kayn. Caught off guard he staggered forward and Petra used it to her advantage. She lifted herself to her feet quickly and ran around to the back of her crystals. Her eyes began to grown and she formed smaller crystals at the base of her feet.

"That'a girl." Kayn growled, regaining his composure. He hopped into the air and was now standing behind Petra. He grabbed her neck, keeping her in a choke hole. She shifted her body weight and kicked the crystals at her feet, shattering them into tiny arrowhead sized pieces.

Kayn held her tightly, before tossing her aside and climbing on top of her body to retrain her hands. "Do you need these to control your crystals?" He scoffed, showing off his sheer strength. Petra whimpered from under his grasp and glanced around quickly, looking for the shards of crystal she had broke from the ground.

"No." She hissed, and within that moment the crystals darted over and pierced Kayn's body, leaving bloodied cuts and gaping holes throughout his back. He Threw himself off of her and landed on his feet, his fingers finding a particularly large shard planted at his shoulder. He tore it out before grabbing Petra's legs and dragging her across the ground over to a tree where he hoisted her up and held her arms above her head.

"Sorry, love." He smiled, then with her own crystal pierced the palm of her hand, nailing her against the tree.

Petra shirked in pain, but the agony set her ablaze. Her body began to shake, her skin turning cold and with the hand he hadn't priced she grasped Kayn and through the very tips of her fingers came tiny crystals, like that of a geode. They engulfed Kayn's shoulder, trailing up to his neck and down his right arm. They produced quickly and in a very large quantity, and she had fully encased his entire right side before yanking her pierced hand from the tree and collapsing to the ground in total exhaustion.

"Ok, ok you win." Kayn struggled, unable to break the thick shell that formed around his skin. "Tell me you can break this."

Petra tiredly glanced up, she herself amazed at what she accomplished. "I don't know, I've never done it before."

Kayn's body contorted for a second, his size increasing as the Darkin came and left. The crystals shattered and fell to dust at his feet. He knelt down next to Petra, grasping her wounded hand in his. "We'll have Soraka fix this for you when she returns."


	11. Chapter 11

Petra's hand was bleeding badly, and it seemed to only get worse. Kayn brought her inside the house and began to care for her.

"This is becoming a routine thing, isn't it?" He smirked, ripping the bottom of his cloak that hung loosely on a nail that stuck from the door frame. Kayn wrapped the torn rag tightly around her palm and wrist to restrict the blood flow until Soraka returned.

"You'll be ok," He grinned, lifting her hand to his lips to place a cheeky kiss upon the tattered fabric.

"I hope it's not routine." Petra blushed. The pressure of the make shift tourniquet felt good against the gaping hole in her hand, and for a moment she cherished the attention Kayn was giving her, even though it was he who caused the need for attention.

"I want you to keep this." Kayn tore another, thinner strip of fabric from the cloak and wrapped it securely around the tiny object. He had saved the crystal shard that he had impaled her palm with and turned it into a necklace. "Use it as a lesson. Your own power can always hurt you." He draped it over her head so it hung nicely at her bust.

"So I should wear my lesson?" She scoffed, brows furrowed at his odd 'gift'.

"You should begin carrying crystals with you at all times. Think of it as if you were carrying a gun with bullets." Kayn wanted to make sure she knew she would be expected to fight at any time, and he figured giving her a form of permanent ammunition would indirectly suggest that.

Suddenly, and seemingly out of no where, Petra slapped Kayn's face as she remembered it was in fact him that caused her pain. It was hard and the skin-to-skin contact echoed with in the walls of the home. "That's for stabbing me." She hissed, her attitude shifting at the drop of a hat.

Kayn's head cocked and he bit his lower lip, admiring the strength and assertion she put into the shot. He cracked his neck and paused for just a moment, eye fixated on her's. "Mmmm." Was what he managed out before lunging at her, his hands finding her wrists. He held her arms over her head like he did when they were fighting, but this time the intent was far different.

An off-guard moan escaped Petra's lips, surprised by his quick and forceful movement. "Don't ever hit me unless you're prepared for the consequences." He growled, his free hand wrapped tightly around her chin so he knew he had her full, and undivided attention.

"And what are the consequences?" Petra's voice dripped with defiance. She wanted to know all about the emotion she had just provoked for it had intrigued her beyond comprehension. Up until now Kayn had kept his cool with much more serious situations than a simple slap across the face, so what was it now that had provoked him?

He licked his lips, his tongue rolling back into his mouth as he bit down. She watched as he chewed at the inside of his cheek, almost as if he were deciding right then and there what her punishment would be.

"Well?" She asked after she became inpatient with his pondering, her arms still tightly held above her head.

Kayn smirked and all at once his lips came crashing down onto hers. Petra's hands writhed in bliss, her body arching forward to meet his. He still cupped her face, but as she began to kiss back his free hand raised above her head and leaned against the wall to steady himself. He kissed her passionately, absorbing every feeling he got from the meeting.

Eventually he let go and her hands fell around his neck, meeting behind his head. Kayn lifted her body, her legs warping around his torso. He pressed her against the wall and kept kissing her, his lips traveling down her cheek to her neck where he bit and nibbled at her skin. She moaned, enjoying the twinge of pain.

Kayn spun her around and laid her on the bed, one hand grasping her hair and the other pressed firmly at her hip. His finger tips massaged the dip between her hip bone and her pelvis and Petra wiggled a bit under his touch. He kissed her neck, down her shoulders, her chest, and just as he was about to remove her bodice the door cracked open and in effort to save them both from embarrassment Kayn leaped back like a school boy who got caught kissing his crush.

Soraka entered with a basket full of berries and greens. She smiled, glancing at Kayn who was foolishly feeling around his cloak to seem as if he were doing something with purpose. Then over to Petra who was laying on the bed nonchalantly pulling at the rag around her wound.

"How did training go?" Soraka eagerly asked.


	12. Chapter 12

After Soraka had healed Petra's hand the trio ate her gatherings in silence. Petra and Kayn avoided eye contact, trying their best to calm themselves. It was clear they both desperately wanted each other, the lust practically flooded the room.

On the other hand, the only thing on Soraka's mind was her friend and their rescue mission. "When do you think you'll be ready to head into Noxus?" She asked while munching on a banana. (Yes. A banana.)

Petra glanced at Kayn, immediately blushing.

"I think we'll be ready tomorrow." He said matter-of-factly. Petra's eyes widened in disbelief.

"We've trained once!" She exclaimed. "You're going to throw me to the lions so soon?"

Soraka held her breath, prepared for another fight to break loose.

"Petra you're so strong. I don't think you even realize it." He replied, being as sincere as he could. Kayn was standing now, pacing the room

"I don't feel strong." She too got up, following Kayn closely. "I could hardly beat you and you weren't even trying."

"But I know you can do it. I know you'll be fine." Truthfully he wasn't sure. He hoped his words of encouragement would sound believable enough to give Petra a spark of motivation. But the truth was that they were running out of time, especially if the people who kidnapped Soraka's friend were from the same cause as the men who kidnapped Petra herself.

"I'm not ready, Kayn." She spoke, her eyes finding the floor.

"Well you have to be." Kayn approached her, lifting Petra's chin up so he could look at her. "I'll protect you, but I know you'll be fine." His smile was hollow. Some how she believed him...

They left that evening just as the sun was setting. Each wore a cloak to keep their face covered, hoping the cloaks themselves wouldn't draw just as much attention. Their goal would be to slide into Noxus unseen, and then from there stay hidden in the shadows. Soraka wasn't sure where Lulu had been taken, but Kayn had been here before. He had a few suspicions.

In a way Petra was still put off by Kayn's demands of her. That she could fight, and would have to, regardless of her experience. It didn't make her feel strong or powerful, and truthfully those were the feelings she was hoping for. But as they traveled the dark and gloomy streets of Noxus Petra held the crystal shard around her neck, toying with it, almost absorbing it's energy. Though she wasn't prepared to fight, she was ready.

Noxus was a toxic mess of a city. Even the street lights seemed miserable. In fact everyone they walked past looked miserable. It helped them in a way, as everyone was too caught up in themselves to care about the three cloaked figures who slinked along in the shadows.

"Where are we going?" Asked Soraka. She was becoming more and more impatient as they progressed, and Kayn had noticed.

"We're going to a bar thats a few blocks away. The bar owner is a real shady guy." Kayn was leaning in very close to Soraka, his eyes shifting from side to side making sure no one was listening. "He's notorious for knowing everything and anything that happens in Noxus, and for the right prices he'll tell you what he knows. If your friend is here, this guy will know."

Soraka nodded, her arms crossing over her chest as they trudged along. Petra rushed up to Kayn as well, a list of her own questions growing longer by the second.

"Do you know this guy?" Was her first question. "Does he know you? How do you know he'll be willing to help?"

Kayn stopped walking and spun around to face Petra. "Love, I know that he'll know what we're asking him. That's _all_ I know."

His answer was far from reassuring and the fact that they had to continue on was far from settling. Petra's stomach was turning and her palms lined with sweat. She literally wreaked of fear and it was obvious.

"I need you to breath, Petra." Kayn whispered from over his shoulder. "Rhaast has been nagging in my ear. He can _smell_ your fear."

Petra swallowed hard "I'm sorry. I can't help it."

"Well do you're best. We're here."

The bar was a dominant part of the street. It's neon signs and lights flickered wildly, drawing everything's attention. Inside was even worse, it was loud and crowded. The people inside looked hard and tough. Everyone had a drink in their hand, and a weapon close by. Half naked women danced on almost every table top, some draped over the battle-worn men. The bar was very far from classy, and so Petra stuck close to Kayn.

They approached a dimly lit table at the very back of the bar, which was a feat within itself as they squeezed their way through the crowd to get there. The seats were velvet and large, much nicer than the rest of the bar. An awfully ugly looking creature sat there alone, empty bottles all over the table and floor surrounding him.

As they neared, Kayn turned to Soraka and Petra "Stay here. Let me talk to him." And he left them to speak with the fowl looking monster.


	13. Chapter 13

"What do you want." The creature breathed heavy, the tube coming from his face fogging up.

"I need information." Kayn tactfully pushed his hood back, taking extreme care to keep Rhaast covered.

Another heavy breath, it's shoulders rising and falling slowly. "Why should I help the likes of you?" He leaned towards Kayn, glaring at him through disapproving eyes.

"I'll compensate you for your time." Kayn pulled a coin bag out from under the cloak and bounced it in his hand, the sound of coin hitting coin enticing the... thing.

"That's better. Sit." It leaned back. "You know who I am, don't you?"

"Yes, you're known quite well." Kayn sat down adjacent from him. "Urgot."

Urgot laughed hard, coughing and wheezing before he spoke again. "What do you want to know. I might have an answer for you."

Kayn had to word his question carefully. He knew one wrong comment and it could be curtains. "A friend of mine went missing. I suspect she may have been... borrowed..." He tensed in his seat as man walked closely behind him.

"Borrowed you say?" Urgot cocked his head "How much does this answer cost to you?"

"200 gold." Kayn said, his eyes slowly looking around him as he studied the crowd.

"I don't have answer for you, boy. Run along." His made a shooing motion with his hand, his head turning to the beer on the table in front of him.

"Did I say 200? I mean 500." Kayn pursed his lips, pulling more gold out from under his cloak.

"That's better." Urgot leaped from his seat, swiping the gold from Kayn's hands.

"Now I want my answer." Kayn stood, prepared to leave the moment he got the information from the awful creature.

"I heard a couple chumps were... _borrowing_... different types to bring to Zaun. They've been real sneaky down by the swamps." Urgot snorted "But I'd turn back now. They're a real rough looking bunch. Took one of my gals right out my bar..."

Kayn nodded "Well maybe I'll bring her back with my friend."

Urgot shrugged "I might have something for you if you do."

 _-TRIGGER WARNING BELOW. READ WITH CAUTION-_

Petra stood silently in a corner with Soraka. She did her best to keep to herself, trying her hardest to not touch anyone or anything. Sadly, that didn't help much. A man dressed in red approached, he got close and separated Soraka and Petra by stepping in between them.

"I can smell you from across the bar." He inhaled deeply, his mouth getting close to Petra's neck. He was uncomfortably close, and it made her nervous.

"I- I'm sorry?" She tried to pull away but found herself pinned against a wall. The white haired man cocked his head, placing a hand to the wall behind Petra.

"Don't be, dear." He slowly pulled her hood away from her face. Her hand raced up to the fabric to grab it, but it was too late. The hood had fallen to her shoulders. He had seen her face. "So beautiful." He whispered, growing closer and closer to her.

"I need to leave, I'm sor-" Petra went to squeeze away but the man had stepped in front of her, pressing his body to hers. She was pushed tightly against the wall, and it appeared that Soraka was also being barraged by a man. The two had been totally separated, and Kayn was no where to be seen.

"Awe. Don't leave just yet. It's been a long time since I've had..." He inhaled deeply against her neck. "Demon."

"Excuse me?" Petra was struggling now, trying her best to wiggle away without causing too much of a scene.

"Let me get just a taste, won't you?" The man's jaw opened wide revealing two sharp fangs. It was obvious now what he was talking about and what was happening. He was a vampire and he wanted Petra to be his next treat and she couldn't do anything to get away.

Petra had stiffened up, preparing herself for the sharp pain on her neck. Her eyes closed shut tightly, her hands in fists. The vampire pushed her hair away from her shoulder revealing a pale neck. He began to kiss her and she pulled away immediately. He seemed to ignore it and began kissing down her neck and shoulder. His lips were cold and it made her feel sick. She wanted to scream and break the floor with her crystals, she wanted to impale this scum bag. But for the good of the mission, she did her best to keep calm.

Then it happened. The vampire's teeth priced her skin and his lips wrapped around her neck. But just as quickly as it happened it stopped. The man jerked away from her, his fangs dragging against her shoulder and disappearing from her body. She opened her eyes to find Kayn, whos eyes both glowed red. Horns protruded from his head; It seemed like he was both the Darkin and himself.

Kayn had ripped the vampire from Petra's body and had reeled back then laid a heavy fist directly to his face. The man who was assaulting Soraka had ran off the second his friend was caught and that left Kayn to a one on one brawl in the corner of the bar. The strangest part was that no one seemed to bat an eye. Things like this must have been normal, and it played to their advantage because it was quite clear that Kayn had Darkin blood in him.

His body was contorting, but at the same time reverting back to his human state. It was as if he were fighting not only the Vampire but himself.

Kayn had the man on the floor. He was punching him incessantly, almost blind with rage. The vampire's blood covered the floor and Kayn's fists. Petra finally snapped out of her fear-struck daze and realized if she didn't pull him off her attacker he'd kill him. And right now that murder was not what they needed.

She rushed over, pulling Kayn from the man's body. She waved Soraka over, who seemed equally ass petrified. The two pulled Kayn off the vampire, tumbling over as he fell back.

"Kayn we need to get out." Petra stressed, sliding out from under his body. "We need to go now."


	14. Chapter 14

Petra had quite literally dragged Kayn out of the bar and away from the fight. She was positive almost everyone she pulled him past saw their faces, and that made her nervous as hell.

"That was dumb of you." Petra spoke quietly as they turned down a dark ally way. "I thought we were trying to coast under the radar. That was the exact opposite of staying out of sight."

Kayn was still blind with rage, his eyes red and glowing. He had blood splattered across his chest and face, his knuckles torn apart from the sheer force he applied to the vampire's skull. He took a few moments to breath deeply, slowly calming down.

"You expect me to stay calm? He would have raped you! Sucked you dry!" He was doing his best to keep his tone low, but his best wasn't enough. Petra lunged forward and placed her hand over his lips.

"But he didn't. He took a good chunk out of my neck and some blood. That's all." Petra was doing her best to calm and reassure him, but instead he only seemed to be getting more angry.

"Thats all?" He hissed, pushing her hand from his mouth. "You could have died and you did nothing to defend yourself!" He got into her face and was now yelling at her.

"That's enough!" Soraka tried to step in but was pushed aside by Kayn.

"Stay out of it." He growled. "Do you understand why I'm angry?"

"No, I don't." Petra spoke softly. He was scaring her and she wasn't sure how to handle it.

"This." He snatched at the crystal around her neck and held it in between their faces."This was there the whole damn time. You could have defended yourself." He dropped the shard and furrowed his brow. "Why didn't you?"

She faltered back, staggering into the wall away from him. "I-I'm sorry. I was trying not to draw any attention to us." She tried to reason.

"At the cost of your own well being? Your life?" He scoffed "You want to fight. You want to be powerful. Well you missed an opportunity."

Petra didn't say anything. Truthfully she couldn't. Kayn was right, as much as she didn't want to admit it. The three stood in the ally in silence. Kayn was still simmering down from the adrenaline rush while Soraka and Petra quietly waited for their next direction.

After several minutes Kayn had finally spoke, his eye returning back to his normal. "The swamps. That's where your friend is. We'll leave immediately." He had already taken off and was headed down the road, his cloak returning to his head to cover his face.

"Oh, and Soraka." He stopped walking and spun around. "Don't heal that bite mark for Petra." He glared at Petra, then back to Soraka. "She needs to remember this."


	15. Chapter 15

Kayn walked silently, though Rhaast was a nuisance in his ear. He was present more often than Kayn led everyone to believe. He became good at hiding his... vessel mate. After the fight at the bar Rhaast was loud and hard to quiet. He yelled in Kayn's head, his word's bouncing from one side of his skull to another.

"You let him live?" He poked "You should have _killed_ him."

Kayn usually tried his best to ignore the demon living within him. He tried to block out his comments, and especially tried not to reply. Replying fed the passenger in his body. Replying invited him to stay and talk longer.

"She could have been killed." Rhaast was loud, his deep voice echoing in Kayn's mind. "We would have lost her just as quickly as we got her."

Truthfully Kayn was becoming tired of trying. He wished he could rip Rhaast out of him. Hand the demon scythe to another being. Get rid of his soul passenger for good. But he couldn't do that... This wasn't something he could put in a box and forget about.

"You're weak, Kayn. Grow a pair." Rhaast provoked. "You were too easy on her. Make her suffer for her mistake." It's voice grew louder.

"Shut the _fuck_ up." Kayn whispered to himself. He was walking further ahead of Petra and Soraka and he prayed they didn't hear him.

"You can not silence me." Rhaast egged on "I will be here with you for ever."

"Shut up. Shut up." Kayn had stopped walking now, his hands reaching up to his ears trying to find silence. "Leave me be."

"You will never get rid of me, Kayn. We are one." Rhaast was louder than the rest of the world now. Kayn couldn't hear anything other than his hauntingly low voice.

"Leave me alone!" He yelled, dropping to his knees in the middle of a dirt path they had wondered on to. "Get out of my head." He ripped the scythe from his back and tossed it in front of him. His body instantly becoming weak, but the voice subsiding.

Petra ran over, kneeling down onto the dirt next to him. She spoke, but he couldn't hear her. His hands remaining over his ears as blood began to trickle out from them. Kayn looked at his hands. He couldn't tell which blood was his and which was from the Vampire. He was shaking, he couldn't keep steady. Petra took him in her arms, laying his head on her chest. He still couldn't hear anything, instead the world around him was a blur accompanied by high pitch ringing. Some how the ringing was easier to hear than Rhaast.

" _Kayn... Ka-... Kay... n..._ " Petra's voice slowly became audible, it weaved in and out but it provided some solace to the worn and beaten man. She noticed both his eye were blue again, his skin was warmer, his hair was softer. "Kayn? Kayn?"

He snapped out of it.

"P-Petra?" He sat up, his body still shaking. "What are we doing? Why did we stop?" He glanced over his shoulder at Soraka. She kept her distance, scared to get closer.

"Kayn?" Petra took his face in her hands, she gazed into his eyes. "Are you alright?" She slid her thumb across his cheek, dragging the vampires tacky blood with it.

"I think so. I don't know what happened." He pulled himself up, reaching for the scythe that should have been on his back. "Where's Rhaast?" He became frantic, but Petra took his hand and reeled his attention back to her.

"Kayn I need you to breathe." He glanced at her, their eyes meeting for a moment before he again became frantic.

"I need Rhaast." He pulled his hand away as he spotted the scythe laying a few feet away.

"Kayn-" Petra began, hoping she could stop him from picking Rhaasy back up. It was too late. She watched as he grasped the long neck of the weapon, his body taking back the rough and jagged shape of a man possessed by an immortal demon. In only a few seconds he looked like himself again, or, he looked like his version of normal.

Petra watched his face, she looked for traces of their conversation. She assumed they would start back up, but instead he was silent and cold. His bones creaked and his spine popped, he rolled his shoulders and necked until they cracked and just like that Kayn felt himself again. Kayn felt Rhaast again.

"Are you alright?" She raced up to him, meeting his pace at a steady trot.

"I'm fine." He said, vision tunneling down the dark pathway. "We need to get moving."

"Kayn," She reached for his hand and pulled him back. He stopped in his tracks.

"What?" His tone was sharp and cold.

"Are you ok?" She asked him one last time.

Kayn knew he was less than ok. He knew Rhaast was corrupting his sanity, but yet he still continued to try and keep himself composed. He tried to keep himself human.

"I'm fine." He lied through his teeth "Now lets move, I want to get to the swamp before midnight."


	16. Chapter 16

Petra knew they were getting close. The stench of stale water and bogged down moss and weeds filled the night air and the ground slowly became softer and softer. As the moon rose to it's peak they began to loose sight of their destination as it became shrouded in darkness. Mosquito and flies trailed behind them, enjoying the bits that got kicked up as they quietly navigated the outside of the Noxus swamps.

"What's the plan?" Petra whispered "How are we going to pull this off?"

"We circle the swamp until we see someone. Follow them. See what we can find." Kayn glanced over his shoulder to get a view of the two girls. He wanted to make sure they were close by. He didn't want to risk an invasion.

"And what if they're at the center of the swamp? What if we don't see anything at all?" Petra questioned. She squinted, her eyes straining to see through the fog in effort to avoid the black stains of water that puddled on the ground.

"Then we'll head that way after we've exhausted all other options. I want to get a leg up on them; For now we're going to stay low, stay quiet, and focus on putting our strategy together."

The darkness consumed the swamp. As they neared the very edge of the murky water the trees became thick and the air was sticky and warm. Sweat beaded against Kayn's cold skin and he did his best not to let the heavy air suffocate him. He did his best to keep calm for he knew they would likely be heavily out numbered and he _knew_ Petra would almost certainly fail.

"What are we looking for, exactly?" Soraka whispered, picking up her pace.

"Anything moving. Anything we can follow back to their camp." Kayn stopped walking, holding arm out to stop Soraka and Petra as well. "Like that. Get down." He pointed at a figure that was lurking across the water in the shadows. He watched as it paced a few dozen feet one way,. then turn and pace a few dozen feet the other way. "Bingo." Kayn whispered.

"So what do we do?" Petra asked, the fabric of her dress absorbing the greenish brown water and seeping through to the skin of her knees. She shivered as the cold set in, giving her an uncomfortable moist feeling.

"We need to get closer." Kayn spoke, his eyes tracing the edge of the swamp for a way over. He spotted a thin patch of land that extended beyond the trees and weaved through the water, but it led directly to where this shadowy figure was protecting. He needed to figure out another way.

Just as he was about the stand, Kayn was lifted off the ground and was suspended in the air. He was turned around to face two glowing yellow eyes and was met with a deep voice seasoned with a thick southern accent.

"What are you doing in my swamp?" Not only did this creature sounds terrifying, it was terrifying. Petra and Soraka stayed on the ground, they turned to face the monster that held Kayn in the air.

Kayn had to decide what to do. He noted the thing said _my swamp_. This may mean that he's not apart of the group that was across the water. Kayn took a deep breath in and spoke. "We' mean you no harm." He lifted his arms to show the create that he was not holding any weapons and did not intend on reaching for them either.

"Then why are you here?" It spoke deep and slowly, hits yellow eyes glancing down to Petra and Soraka. "If you girls know whats good for ye', stay down and don't move."

"Them." Kayn pointed across the way "They kidnapped our friend. We've just come to get her back."

The creature shifted it's weight then reeled Kayn in so that he was right next to it's face. It took a long inhale in, it's tongue running over it's mouth and down to it's mustache-like whiskers. It seemed to be mulling thoughts over, thinking long and hard about it's next words. "There's a lot of 'em over there." It spoke "Too many for me to eat all at once." It slurped at the saliva that began to drip from it's mouth.

"You've seen them?" Kayn questioned, still hanging in the air.

"Yes. They've been growing in numbers. Keeping me up at night with their screaming and hollering." It furrowed its brow, anger lacing it's voice.

"Why don't we make a deal, then?" Kayn asked "If you get us over there and help us get out friend back, I promise to make all of them leave your swamp."

The creature let out a slow, mocking laugh. "And what makes you think you can win a fight like that, boy?"

"I have my ways." Kayn's eyes both began to glow red, his skin slowly changing pigment, horns beginning to protrude from his head.

"I see." The creature nodded, his other hand reaching around to Kayn's horns. It poked at them for a moment before dropping Kayn to the wet ground. "I'll take you over there, but I want the healer." It looked to Soraka whose eyes grew wide.

"Wh-what?" She pointed to herself "Me?"

"You stick with me. Keep me alive. I don't intend on dying today, girly." It stepped forward, a gleam of moonlight catching it's wet scaly skin.

"Deal." Kayn spoke up before either of the girls could. "Soraka will keep you alive and after we complete our mission we'll part ways. Do we have a deal?" Kayn was still partial transformed, his skin steaming in the humidity of the swamp.

"You gon' make sure all them stay gone now, arn't ya?" The creature leaned close to Kayn, his sheer size was intimidating enough, but then he smiled revealing rows of sharp teeth.

"That's part of the agreement, yes." Kayn nodded. "Do we have a deal?"

"I suppose we do. Tahm Kench, I hope it remains a pleasure to meet you." He introduced himself, a large hand reaching up to his head to remove his top hat while he bowed.

"My name is Kayn, this is Soraka, and this is Petra." He glanced over at both the girls. They stood now, stepping forward to shake Kench's big, slimy hands.

"Now..." Kayn began, turning to face the water. "How do we get over there unseen?"


	17. Chapter 17

Surprisingly enough this Tahm kench fellow was more useful than Kayn had anticipated, and in less than normal ways too. As agreed he got the group over to the other side of the Swamp. The three were corralled into his frighteningly large mouth where they uncomfortably sat in careful disgust. But, it did the trick. He took them deep into the murky water, under the boggs and fallen trees. They must have been scoring the very bottom of the swamp because as Kench swam it became cooler and cooler, suggesting they were leaving the warm surface that had been baking in the sun all day.

The reached land and Kench had unhinged his large jaw to allow them to crawl out mostly unscathed save for their now damp clothes that reeked of his fishy dinner. He had unloaded them a couple hundred feet away from this camp. It was surrounded by makeshift docks and dimly lit jars of fireflies. In the center of it all stood a rickety old hut with smoke billowing from it's chimney. It looked like whoever was here now had been here for some time.

"How long have they been here for?" Kayn whispered.

"This group? a couple weeks." Kench's thick accent rumbled from the pit of his stomach. "They invaded the chump that was living here. Not sure where he went, but they took over his home and land." Kench shook his head in disgust. "Poor sap."

Kayn nodded as the story began to piece itself together. "About how many of them would you say?"

"Maybe a dozen. They come and go, usually bringing more with them. But it sounds like those plus ones aren't there by choice based on your story." Kench said as he picked his teeth with his nails, his tongue wiping them clean.

"So what's the Plan?" Petra finally spoke. "How are we going to do this?"

"I've got a couple ideas. Just follow me and stay quiet. I'll explain everything to you when it's time."

A loud shriek echoed from inside the hut and Soraka perked up. "That was Lulu." She was frantic, her eyes darting left and right. "We need to get in there!" She was raising her voice. "We need to get Lu-" Kench laid a big hand over her mouth.

"Hush now, darling. You're going to get us all killed." He slowly released his hand from her lips and made sure she was calm.

Kayn slid through the tall brush on the edge of the water. There was one person that guarded the door, it looked like the same guy that had been pacing at the edge of the swamp earlier. He was sitting on the steps of the hut peeling an apple and popping slices into his mouth. It was a young kid, his skin was dark tan, his hair was in a tall white mohawk. He stood out like a sore thumb and Kayn was surprised with how young he looked. He began sizing him up and devising a plan.

"Petra start placing crystals along the edge of the water. Do what ever you need to get yourself prepared. I need you prepared." He made direct eye contact with her. She looked terrified, but still she nodded and crept away, playing crystals of varying sizes in her wake.

"Kench, I want you to get into the water and try to lore this kid out onto the dock. Take Soraka with you, and don't make too much of a commotion."

Kench nodded "Can I eat him?" He asked.

"Wh-what? Ya, ya sure. Whatever you want. Just don't draw too much attention to yourself."

"Delicious." He growled, grasping Soraka's small hand in his and puller her into a corner by a tree. "Stay here, girly. Help when you feel it's needed." The creature lowered himself into the water, his yellow eyes faded into the darkness of the swamp.

"What about you?" Soraka asked, crouching down next to the water.

"Don't worry about me. Try and keep them alive." Kayn disappeared into the brush, all of them now split up with their own tasks. Kayn hoped they could handle it.

Petra had set up close to a hundred crystals. She admired how pretty the looked next to the dreary marsh. They gleamed dimly, swallowing all the light they could get. She sat back in the grass and silently watching the hut. While she waited Petra remembered what Kayn had said about having ammunition on her at all times, and so she began creating smaller bullet sized shards of crystal and tucked them into her bosom for safe keeping. She felt as ready as should could be.

Kench dove deep under the water. He caught glimpses of the boy on guard through the rickety old docks and decided that was how he'd lore him out. He swam up under the wood and began knocking, the quiet thuds vibrating up the structure and to the steps the boy sat on.

"Who's there?" The boy asked, rising to his feet. He pulled a glowing sword looking piece from his back and stepped out onto the dock.

Kench moved further out, still tapping lightly against the wood. The boy hesitantly followed the sound, his weapon handy and ready. He lured him out to the very edge of the dock and stopped tapping at the wood. He waited now...

"Man," The kid started "I'm loosing it."

Kench watched as he shook his head, placing the weapon on his back once more. He turned to start walking back towards the hut, but just as he let his guard down Kench leaped from the water grasping the boy's ankle and knocking him down. He began to yell, but was silenced by the water that flowed into his lungs. Kench pulled him deep into the swamp, his glowing sword like weapon sliding from his back and floating down past them to the bottom of the bogg.

"Delicious..." He gurgled, pulling the boy into his jaws.

A tattered red scarf floated to the surface of the water, and just like that the boy was gone. Erased from existence.

Kayn had watched the whole thing happen. His body tensed at the brief scream and loud splash that echoed throughout the trees. He turned his attention to the hut's door and watched quietly as two men stepped out onto the porch. To his pleasant shock he spotted the vampire from earlier. He looked like he was still in bad shape, which made Kayn grin. The other man, however, was big. He wasn't human, in fact Kayn didn't know what he was. His eyes glowed red and so did his stomach. His jaw looked to be metal and pointed, almost like a crown. This creature would be the bigger problem on the two.

He creeped closer and closer to the hut, monitoring the two that had come out to check on their dear friend. They had stepped put onto the dock, the vampire heading towards Soraka and Petra who were hidden in the brush. The juggernaut of a creature was sent the other way. _Perfect_ Kayn thought. _They've separated themselves._

Kayn prepared himself. He got close to the building and intentionally rustled the bushes, sending a frog into the water. The vampire heard the plop of the animal as it hit the the still swamp and stepped off the dock onto the marsh. His face was still beaten and bloodied from their fight earlier and Kayn was prepared to finish what he started.

"Fucking frog." The vampire cursed as he watched the small amphibian swim away under the dock. With in the same moment of the vampire's doubt Kayn lunged from the brush raising Rhaast high above his head sending it crashing down into the ground next to the vampire who faltered for a moment. Kayn dashed forward whipping his scythe into a large circle that sent the vampire flying back into the water.

 _You're making too much noise._ The Darkin spoke. _You're going to blow it._

"I won't." Kyan growled to himself before jumping at the vampire. The scythe landed directly into his chest, a loud crack of his ribs ringing out into the air. The vampire reached up and grabbed at Kayn's neck. Blood began to flow from all of Kayn's open wounds and the in only a second the vampire seemed refreshed. He pushed Kayn back and stood, walking over to finish it.

"You're fucking done." He spat, blood circling around his body. He released his fist and the blood shot out in all directions, piecing Kayn's chest. "I'll kill you and then I'll find your girl and finish her off too." He laughed, reaching down to grab Kayn from the ground. Just as Kayn was about to take a devastating blow a large crystal shard landed directly in the vampires chest and went flying out the his back. The vampire staggered back, grasping at the hole in his chest.

Kayn fell to the ground and watched as Petra glided over, crystals hovering around her body as she moved. She sent several more flying towards the vampire and watched as his limp body fell into the swamp, slowly sinking towards the bottom.

"I did it." She whispered, then turned towards Kayn who was grinning wildly.

"You did." He pulled himself up, his wounds healing as he caught a glimpse or Soraka from the side line. Impressed, he admired their team work but then quickly realized they needed to move as the juggernaut of a beast was likely headed their way. "Hide." His hissed, shooing Petra away as he too slid into the darkness behind the hut.


	18. Chapter 18

The fight's commotion drew two more men out from the hut. They met with the Juggernaut in the center of the dock, each of them confused and on guard. Kayn had slid behind the hut and into the darkness. He watched as Petra laid on the wet ground, flattening her body below the tall grass. Soraka had hid behind a tree, she stood still grasping her staff tightly in her hands. Kayn had assumed Kench left, but just as his doubt creeped in the large creature's eyes flickered from under the dark water's surface and vanished back under the dock. _Perfect_ Kayn thought. His army was slowly forming, and in a way he was eager to see what they could do all fighting together.

Kayn was pressed against the backside of the building. He closed his eyes and let his body slowly seep through the wood wall. It was ability he had acquired in his last year with Zed, one he could do well, but one that also drained him for a few moments after the fact. His body became translucent and his eyes glowed red as the Darkin was becoming impatient. He wanted to fight, he wanted the bloodshed.

Kayn carefully peeked into the small hut to see two more men sitting comfortably, drinks in hand. They looked to be joking about the boy that had failed to stand guard, making large hand gestures and mocking tones. Kayn glanced around the room, there was only one door besides the the one that led outside and Kayn assumed what's where he would find their captives. Exhausted now, he slid further across the inside of the wall and with a weary breath he staggered out from the wall and into the dark room. He hoped there were no enemies inside it, but still pulled the scythe from his back and took on a battle stance. His eyes began to glow brightly, barely illuminating the room around him.

Two beings, one small like a yordle or dwarf and one human girl, hung limply from the ceiling. It was eerily similar to how Petra had been strung up when he found her. It sent a shiver down his spine.

Kayn slowly approached the two women, his eyes still glowing. He hoped they wouldn't become startled and start screaming. "I'm here on behalf of Soraka." He whispered. The small girl's head perked up, her eyes immediately tearing up. "I need you both to be _very_ quiet." Kayn shifted about the room as silently as he could, making only minor creaks in the wooden floor boards. It didn't seem to be enough to alert the men.

"I'm going to release both of you." Kayn whispered, cutting the ties that were wrapped tightly around Lulu's wrists and catching her small body before it could crash into the floor. He looked to the other girl "You work for Urgot?" He spoke, voice barely coming above the sound of the wind. The red haired girl nodded, and Kayn also released her wrists. He lowered her body to the ground and handed her a dagger from his boot. "I expect you both to fight. They're split up right now, we can easily take the two of them down."

"Where are the others?" Lulu whispered "There was a lot of them."

"We already took care of them. Looks like there's five of them left." Kayn pointed to the wall, signaling outside. "Three of them out there, two in the next room."

"Who's in the next room?" The red head asked. "What did they look like?"

"A man in a blue hood and a black haired man wearing heavy armor." Kayn explained, hoping maybe the girl had some insight.

"Talon and Darius." She whispered. "We can take them."

"You know them?" Kayn questioned.

"I used to work for them. They were't so bad until they signed a contract with some ass in Zuan." She spoke quietly, but rage dripped from her words.

"Well," Kayn began "Lets take them down. Here's the plan..."

Outside Petra watched as the three guards split up and began to circle the hut. Along with the Juggernaut there was a white haired woman who carried a large sword, and smaller man dressed in what looked like a mage's robe. The mage walked off the dock and towards Petra. She watched as a flock of black birds began flying down from the trees, circling the man as he investigated the brush. At this rate Petra knew he'd see her, and so she had to think fast.

She pulled the crystal pieces from her chest and tossed them into the air. The mage's head spun around and he made a beeline for Petra. She leaped to her feet and pulled the crystals down from the air. They came raining down, piercing the mage several times before he sent his flock of birds at her. She leaped to her feet, batting the birds that picked at her skin away. In a hurry she made a crystal jolt from the ground under her enemy, he staggered forward falling at her feet. She went to leap back but instead he grabbed her ankles, dragging her down to the muddy ground. He warped his long slender fingers around her neck and began chocking her. Petra ripped the crystal from her necklace off and sent it whizzing past the Mage.

"You missed." He let out a devious laugh, squeezing harder around her throat.

"I- Didn't-" She managed out. The crystal from her neck was sent straight into the larger one she made earlier. It shattered, sending hundreds of small and sharp pieces flying all around them on the ground. The mage ignored it, working to keep her restrained and suffocated. But to his surprises she flicked her wrist and the crystal remnants all came back to her, forming a long sword in her hand. She reared it back and drove it straight through his back and out his chest.

The mage's eyes bugged out of his head and blood dripped from his lips onto Petra's face. He rolled off of her, grasping the weapon in his chest. She pulled the sword out and all of the crystals fell apart, deconstructing the murder weapon. He was slowly dying, and in a way Petra enjoyed watching the life leave his eyes. But enough was enough, and she rolled his almost lifeless body into the swamp, his body floating slowly under the dock.

Tahm Kench had stayed in the water, he was enjoying the carnage above as it sent multiple bodies down into his territory where he was able to happily feast on the poor saps. He monitored Petra and Soraka, in a way taking on a personal responsibility for them. He watched as Petra collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. She had won her first fight, Kench could tell by the way she reacted when the Mage died right before her eyes.

He turned his attention over to Soraka who was suddenly being dragged from behind the tree by the female guard. She had a hand full of her hair and looked to be pulling her towards the water. Kench quietly swam over, staying under the dark surface. He watched, looking for an opportunity to spring on them. Soraka was struggeling and the guard was becoming annoyed. She hit Soraka, knocking her out. Dragging her limp body over the guard pushed her into the water.

"Takes care of that." She wiped her hands, her foot extending into the swamp to push Soraka's body further out into the water.

Kench grasped Soraka, tucker her into his mouth for safety. He swam forward and all at once his large body leaped from the water, springing himself at the female guard. She was caught off guard, and scrambled for her weapon.

"Why don't you pick one someone your own size, lass?" He lunged at her, his long tongue whipping out and hitting her. She was covered in his saliva, it was thick and sticky. Her hands slipped and she couldn't get a good grasped on her sword. She fell back and in a moment of desparation she yelled.

"Sion!"

Kench Lunged at her again, his tongue darting out and lashing at her face. Her skin was warm and soft and it made him hungry. He pulled Soraka from the safety of his jaws and carried her like a ball under his thick arm.

"You sure do look good." He hummed, his tongue wetting his lips. "I bet you taste so sweet." He laughed heartily and picked the guard up with his free hand. She struggled, waving her sword around, but she still wasn't able to get a good grasp on it.

Kench sized her up, and when he was ready his jaw unhinged revealing his numerous pointed teeth. He lifted the girl in the air and dangled her over his mouth. She was screaming hysterically now, trying her best to wiggled away from his grasps. But it was too late, his long tongue reached up and wrapped around her torso pulling her into his jaws. He chomped down, the sound of bones cracking, screaming, and then silence.

Kench rinse his mouth and placed Soraka back inside before swimming back into the water. He wanted to hide before the other guard, Sion, made it back over. And he was coming...


	19. Chapter 19

"Stay in the room, we have the element of surprise." Kayn began "It's dark and to them there is no way anyone would have gotten in here without using the door."

The girls nodded. "We'll follow your lead." Lulu whispered, she seemed nervous and scared but Kayn had to put that into the back of his mind. He needed to focus on what was at hand: A most likely bloody brawl that he hoped Rhaast would join.

"I need you girls to start making a commotion. Lure them in here. Hide in the dark corners, let me start the fight." He stretched his back, slowly rotating his shoulders until the cracked. He held his scythe firmly and stood next to the door with his back against the wall. "Go." He nodded.

On queue the girls started yelling, it was really complete nonsense, but it did the trick. Kayn pressed his ear up to the wood wall and listened.

"What the fuck?" One of them spoke. "Shut the fuck up, eh?" He yelled again.

The girls kept screaming, "We need to pee!" Kayn shook his head, but if it worked it worked.

"I swear to god if I could kill both of you right now." The voice called back. "Talon go see what the fuck they want.

"Me?" The other one, Talon, spoke. "Why me? You go let them out to piss."

"I said go." It sounded like he had pushed a table over as tankards smashed to the floor with his words.

"Fuck, Darius. There goes out beer." Talon retorted. Kayn could hear him get up though, his feet stomping over to the door. "I hope you little lambs are ready for a beating. You'll pay for making us waste our beer." Kayn rolled his eyes, it sounded like that may be intoxicated. _Perfect_.

The door whipped open, leaking candle light into the small room. The man, Talon, looked confused when he realized the girls were no longer tied up. Before he could say anything Kayn pounced on him, swinging his scythe and landing a devastating blow directly on his chest. Talon flew back out the door way and into the wall of the other room. The other man, Darius, was standing now. He held his giant battle axe in his hands and slowly approached the room.

"Alright, girls. That's enough play time." He spat, walking over to the door way. "Now get on the ground and I won't kill you."

"Darius, wait-" Talon began, but it was too late. Kayn lifted his weapon and slammed it into the floor sending Darius staggering back. Kayn leaped through the door way and spun his scythe around him in a wide circle, landing a solid hit on Darius' face.

The girls ran out of the room, the red head leaping towards Talon who was recovering from having the air knocked out of him. She found another dagger on the floor and used it to her advantage. She wielded two now, and spun rapidly in a circle slicing down Talon's chest and face. He too pulled daggers from his belt and began tossing them at her. She did her best to dodge them, only taking minor cuts. Lulu stood at the back line giving health to the red head as she fought Talon, dagger to dagger.

Darius was posing a little more of a problem for Kayn. After he caught his breath Kayn had attempted another swing at him but was sent flying back into the wall by a heavy hit of his battle axe. He had little armor and his shoulder had been gouged badly. He fell to the floor, grasping at his wound. And just as he needed Rhaast the most he came. Kayn's eyes glowed red, the horns growing from his skull, His body contorted and grew as his skin took on a thick protective stone-like shell. His shoulder healed, leaving only the slightest blood stain that almost perfectly blended into his now red skin. The Darkin had come out to play...

"Bad move!" He laughed, his deep voice echoing. Rhaast slammed the scythe into Darius'chest knocking him to the floor. He raised it high about his head and tore it back down, laying right into his chest plate. Darius rolled out of the way before Rhaast could hit him again. He lifted his axe and swung it low, knocking Rhaast down. He crawled over and held him down, punching his face repeatedly. To his surprise Rhaast only laughed, his demonic tone growing more and more devious with each blow.

"I can do this all day." He scoffed, "But sadly I have places to be." His arms jolted up and grasped Darius' neck. Rhaast pulled himself to his feet and lifted Darius so he was just above the ground. He landed a clean punch right to his nose and watched as blood dripped out. It was most likely broken, and by the fuming growl he let out Rhaast knew he had hit a sore spot.

The red haired girl was tied with Talon, she was doing her best to out smart him but they had a very similar fighting style. She did say they used to work together, and it was assumed they also trained together.

Lulu was still terrified, still keeping the girl alive with her healing. But soon she realized her friend was becoming tired and knew she needed to make a move. She grasped her wand tightly in her tiny hands and waved it at the red head. She doubled in size, her head almost touching the ceiling. This gave her the upper hand, and she used it to her advantage. She leaped at Talon, also dodging a jab he took at her neck. She grabbed hold of his blue robe and yanked at it, pulling him into the floor. She and Lulu worked together to knock him out, fists from the red head flying, little streams of pulsating magic spewing from Lulu's wand. Finally, just as the girl returned back to her normal size, Talon had put his hands up.

"I'm not killing you, Kat." He surrendered. She didn't say anything, instead she sent one last blow directly to his skull knocking him out cold.

Rhaast and Darius had were still battling. They each exchanged blows and eventually Darius landed a good one sending the Darkin out the front door and onto the dock. He leaped to his feet and charged back at him, his scythe wrapping around his torso, pulling the large man out onto the dock as well.

Rhaast darted down the wood dock towards where Petra had set up all her crystals. He kicked them down, breaking them from the ground so she could use them.

"Petra, now." The Darkin boomed, his deep voice sounding of 100 men.

Petra sprung to her feet and watched as Rhaast ran down the dock, followed closely by a heavily armored man. She heard him shout, and knew he needed her. She focused her energy to the crystals that laid all around her and with all of her might sent them flying toward the large man. They all hit, and to her surprise most of them pierced his armor. He faltered back for just a moment before gather his energy again, charging towards Rhaast at the end of the dock. He braced himself, raising his scythe high into the air and hammering it down just as Darius became in range.

"Again, Petra!" He demanded, and she obliged. She darted over, using her power to pull all the crystal shards back. She sent them straight into the air and formed a large sword like the one she made earlier. Rhaast looked on, surprised at the control she was exhibiting.

Darius didn't seem to notice the large sword that loomed above and instead he got back up and swung his axe at Rhaast again, this time pulling him close. Rhaast was sent flying into the water, steam rising the second he hit. Darius circled around the dock to where Rhaast swam to try and lift himself out. He took the opportunity to play dirty and as Rhaast's hand reached up to the dock it was stepped on by a large metal boot.

"I don't know what you are." Darius spat "But you're gonna die today." He put more pressure on Rhaast's hand and leaned over onto his knee to watch his challenger hang from the dock by his trapped hand.

"You can not kill me." Rhaast boomed, his scythe still in his submerged hand. "I am immortal." With all his might Rhaast swung his weapon up above the water and hooked it around Darius' head. He pulled hard sending Darius plunging into the swamp. Rhaast looked on as his own armor began to fail him, weighing his already large and heavy body down below the surface. Darius was drowning, and Rhaast enjoyed the show.

As Darius armor defeated him, his body quickly sinking down to the bottom of the swamp, Rhaast remembered the girls. He pulled himself out of the water, his piping hot body was black from the water and it slowly heated its way red again. He made his way back inside the battered hut to find the two tying Talon up, each with a victorious grin on their faces.

"Lets move." Rhaast growled, the two becoming tense and moving quickly. "Get with Soraka at the end of the dock. We need to leave." They obeyed, running from the hut towards land.

Rhaast looked at Talon who was still knocked out. He searched his limp body for anything to give him an idea of who they were dealing with. Who was calling for all these women to be kidnapped? And how many small armies were there in Runeterra? How many of them would be coming for Kayn after they caught wind of his attacks. To his demise there was nothing. Just as he was about to head back outside he heard shirking.

"He's got Petra!" Soraka screamed.


	20. Chapter 20

Rhaast ran outside to find the Juggernaut holding Petra's body in the air by her neck. Her legs flailed around as she tried to wiggle free. Kat had lunged at him and inflicted only minor wounds before he back handed her away, her body flying a few feet from the fight. Soraka and Lulu did their best, healing Kat and firing what little magic they had left in effort to help Petra. Kench had been on land for a while now as he helped Soraka recover. He rushed over, his long tongue whipping out to his the large humanoid creature. He handed a good hit to its face, causing the guard to release Petra and grasp at it's own eyes.

Kench lashed out another hit, and another before unhinging his jaw and swallowing the Juggernaut whole. This didn't go over too well. He was too big and it cause Kench to spit him out. The Juggernaut leaped forward pulling a large axe from his back and swinging it at Kench. He met the blow with his body, a protective shield forming around him from Lulu.

Petra had caught her breath and jumped into action, pulling her crystal sword towards her and sending it flying into the Juggernaut's stomach. Though it stabbed him, it seemed to have no serious effect. She pulled the sword out and it shattered, then using those shards she threw them back towards the creature. He staggered back, swatting them away like flies. He was too big and too strong, they needed help.

Thankfully Rhaast had ran over, meeting the Juggernaut with a strong swing from his scythe. Finally he took some sort of damage, a large gash appearing across his head. Blood began to drip from the wound.

"Keep firing, Petra." Rhaast yelled, swinging his scythe back again then swinging it forward. The Juggernaut flew back only a few feet and seemed confused for a moment before he rose to his feet again. Rhaast reared back the weapon again, bringing it down onto the ground with all his might. The Juggernaut was knocked up for just a moment and came crashing back down onto the ground. Rhaast swung, again, as hard as he could. His scythe only causing minor wounds.

Petra had conjured up more crystals, she wielded them in the air above her and dove for the large creature. They flew down and pierced his torso and shoulder causing him to howl in pain. He pulled back, his eyes glowing like lava. Then suddenly, he began yelling. Fire spewing from his skin as he ran full force at Petra and the others. She did her best to move out of his tackle but was hit anyway, sent back at least a hundred feet into a tree.

Rhaast knew he would kill her if he landed his charge on her. He was still running full force like a train off it's tracks. The other girls tried their best to slow him but he was unstoppable, and was headed straight for Petra who had been knocked out cold.

Kayn knew what he had to do, and Rhaast heard his demands. They dashed forward as fast as they could, their body still one. Grasping the scythe tightly Rhaast leaped into the air and tore straight down the Juggernaut's back, ripping a hole into him. Rhaast became only a shadow and leaped inside the creature's body. He was paralyzed for a moment, than began clawing at his own chest. Kayn had learned this technique from Zed. He had only done it once before, and knew it was risky to perform now. If he didn't weaken the Juggernaut enough, he would rip out of it's body and surely be pushed aside. Petra would likely be killed before Rhaast could regain his energy.

The Juggernaut was screaming, still clawing at his chest. Rhaast was burning him from the inside out, and they stayed inside of the creature for as long as they could. Finally, Kayn burst out of it's chest. Almost all traces of Rhaast had subsided and that left only Kayn to finish this. He landed on his feet, then with one last full force blow leaped at the Juggernaut and landed his scythe directly into it's skull. The sound of bone crushing under the impact echoed through the woods and bounced off the swamp like a bass drum. The Juggernaut fell to it's knees, blood pouring from it's head. It staggered forwards, arms stretched out reaching for Kayn. It fell face first into the marsh, the water staining red as it thickened with blood.

Tham Kench's eyes flickered from under the surface, the gleam of his teeth in the moon light disappearing as his jaw opened wide and swallowed the dead Juggernaut whole. Kayn nodded to him then watched as he swam off into the dark water.

The fight was over, they successfully rescued both Lulu and Urgot's girl. This would surely give Kayn a better name within Noxus- or, at least, a safe place to go. He stood proudly, staring at his own reflection in the bloody water. He was tired, and he thought Rhaast was too, as he was silent inside the confine of his mind.

Kayn remembered Petra and snapped out of his own head. He ran over to her, Soraka and Lulu both healing her.

"Is she ok?" He asked, kneeling next to her.

"I think so." Soraka said "She's breathing, and we healed most of her wounds."

"She's just unconscious." Lulu added.

Kayn breathed a sigh of relief. "Good," He lifted her limp body in his arms. "We need to leave. Now."

"Where are we going?" The red head asked.

"Back to Urgot's bar. I told him I'd bring you back."

She nodded, relieved she'd be going home. "Thank you." She said.

"Yea, Thanks." Lulu chimed in.

The gratitude was new to Kayn and in a way made him uncomfortable. He nodded and began heading into the woods back towards the center of Noxus, the three others trialing behind him in silent exhaustion.


	21. Chapter 21

The trip back into the center of Noxus felt longer than their trip out. The were all exhausted, tired yawns bouncing back and fourth among them. Kayn had trailed far behind the girls, Petra still in his arms. She had woke half way there, Kayn knew she did. She still she shut her eyes and rested her head against his chest trying her best to pretend to still be out.

By the time they reached Urgot's bar the sun was just peaking over the skyline. The morning sun warmed them and illuminated all of the dark alleys and corners of Noxus. This early in the morning not many Noxian's were awake during the day, and so for the time being the city was quiet and almost peaceful.

Inside the bar was a smoking haze from the night before. Drunks were passed out, their heads resting on the table tops. Some sprawled out on the floor in seemed as though they never left, as if the drunks were perpetually there. Always at Urgot's bar, always black out drunk, and always without control.

They walked towards the back of the bar, much like Kayn did in the beginning of the night. Urgot was still posted at the back, sprawled out on his comfy looking couch. The liquor bottles seemed to have doubled since they last spoke, and so Kayn approached slowly.

"Urgot," He spoke, very slowly getting into the terrifying creature's line of sight as his tired eyes cracked open.

"Get out of here, bud." He grumbled, his hand shooing him away in a deja vu inducing manner.

"Urgot?" The red head piped in. He shot up, his eyes wide open at the sound of her voice.

"Katarina?" He asked, leaping from his couch. "You're alive? How are you alive?" He rushed over to her, his one and only hand grasping her shoulder.

"They came to rescue me." She smiled, looking back to the group.

"Who took you?" Urgot's tone changed in a split second, his eyes full of anger.

"Talon and Darius, they had a couple others." She frowned.

Urgot snorted. "Chumps made an alliance with that group in Zaun." He began.

"Group?" Kayn interrupted. "What group?"

"Don't know. Alls I know is they are posted out in Zaun and they came through Noxus recruiting some time back. Didn't let 'em into my bar. They still took two of my men." He shook his head in disgust. "And then those men came back and kidnapped my dear Katarina."

"Interesting." Kayn nodded, readjusting Petra in his arms. "Well, I brought your girl back. As promised." He smiled a hollow smile, not _asking_ for any compensation- but expecting it.

"I'm very appreciative. I've know Katarina's family for a long time. I was devastated when she was taken." Urgot seemed sincere. Sincere enough for Kayn to ease just a little, the tension in his shoulders becoming just a little less. "Why don't you stay the night. I'll set you up in my best rooms upstairs. Gets some rest, come down when you're ready for a drink."

Soraka and Lulu seemed thrilled to have each other back, as well as to sleep in an actual bed. Truthfully a bed sounded delightful, but Kayn wanted more. He _expected_ more. For now, he took the suite and the nice bed.

Katarina lead them up a few fight of stairs to the very top floor of the shabby building. The hall was dim, a single light barely illuminating the walls. Kayn's expectation of the word _suite_ was likely too high, and the moment they stepped into that hall his hopes of a comfortable bed went out the window.

Kat led Soraka and Lulu to their room first, and to everyone's surprise the walls were painted a nice maroon color, the furniture was in one piece, and the two full beds that sat diagonally from each other in the corners were high and luxurious. The blankets were made up nicely and if they looked as soft as they felt Kayn worried they'd never leave bed. The girls ran into the room like two children, Soraka lifting Lulu onto her bed and then plopping into the other. Admittedly, they seemed imminently at rest, and that was enough for Kayn.

Kat led Kayn down to the very end of the hall and fumbled through some keys. "We don't rent this room out much. Folks here in Noxus can't usually afford it." She huffed, blowing a strand of hair from her face. "But Urgot has it cleaned like all the other rooms in hopes that he'll find a sorry chump willing to pay 2,000 gold a night."

"That's a little steep, don't you think?" Kayn asked, a little surprised at the asking price. But then Kat opened the door revealing a beautiful purple room. Everything was purple, right down to the small foot stool at the edge of the bed. It was the most luxurious room Kayn had ever seen, and he almost felt dirty for stepping into it.

"He's rented it out a few times when some hoity toity folks breeze through town, but otherwise it's mostly untouched." She opened the thick purple curtains that snugly covered the only window. Sun flooded in revealing even more tiny details to the walls and furniture. "The bathroom is right through that door." She pointed to the corner of the room. "It's the only bathroom in the building with a bath."

"I'm a little shocked that this room exists in _this_ bar." Kayn walked over to the bed, finally placing Petra down on the soft purple duvet.

"Yeah, Urgot put a big chunk of change into it." She headed for the door. "But it's got the gold." She winked, slowly closing the door as she made her exit. "Enjoy."

Kayn investigated the room. His finger tips admired the soft fabric of the purple velvet arm chair and lounge seat. Everything seemed to be in such pristine condition, it made him nervous to sit on anything.

 _Shower._ He thought, and made a beeline for the bathroom door. He couldn't remember the last time he actually cleaned himself. The "dip" in the swamp earlier didn't do much for him, either. He craved for some nice, clean, warm water. It was the only time he truly had solace from Rhaast, as he couldn't- and wouldn't- take the scythe into the washroom with him. And Kayn trusted Petra, even if she were to wake up while he cleaned up, he knew she wouldn't dare touch the demon weapon.

So Kayn left Rhaast leaning up against the door way tucked behind a coat rack. He entered the equally luxurious purple bathroom and striped down. His body was battered and tired, blood stains covering most of his skin. Dirt covering the rest. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked at _himself_. His face was normal, his eyes returning to their natural blue color. His hair, though disheveled, laid at his shoulders in soft strands. Kayn hadn't had a good look at himself in a while, and it made him feel sick to his stomach.

He soiled the pristine toilet with vomit.

He'd never felt sick being away from Rhaast before, and he chose to ignore it. He wiped his mouth clean and ran the water, leaning his head under the faucet to rinse his mouth. He turned the shower on, the steaming warm water pouring down onto his skin. He held his arms out in front of him, watching as the traces of battle left his body. He cherished the only moment he'd have for a while as a vulnerable human.

After he washed up, dreading to step back into his filthy clothes, Kayn started down at Rhaast. He still felt nauseous, but he wanted so badly to sleep with out the demon floating around his mind. So Kayn made sure the bedroom door was locked, he took Rhaast and slid the scythe safely under the large bed and climbed into the ostentatious blankets. He slipped Petra under the covers and did the same for himself.


	22. Chapter 22

*** _The following chapter has been censored but still contains adult themes. It is intended for mature readers only. If you wish to read the full, uncensored chapter, you may send me a message.***_

It had seemed like they slept for days, but the two woke when the sound of music vibrated through the floor from the bar below. Kayn had leaped from the bed, grabbing Rhaast from where he had stowed the scythe and placed it back on his back, the weight of the demon filling his soul again. The only positive part was that the nausea left almost immediately.

"You showered?" She asked, rolling off Kayn's side of the bed to run a hand through his soft, clean hair.

"I did." He pulled away a little, not used to the attention. Though, he did his best to ease into her touch.

Petra gasped, darting to the open bathroom door. She walked out of her clothes in the door way revealing her dirty bare skin. Kayn looked away, but found his eyes traveling back to her. He watched as she stepped into the tub, catching a glimpse of her body. It sent a shiver down his spine. He stepped toward the bathroom door and closed it half way, doing his best to restrain from his urges.

Petra left the bathroom, hair soaking wet, dripping down her neck and face. She too put her dirty clothes back on, but yet she looked so happy and content.

"It feels so good to be clean." She spoke, her eyes growing wide as she fully took in the lavish room.

"It does." Kayn nodded, sitting down on the purple velvet arm chair.

"The music sounds wonderful." Petra smiled, slowly swaying to the vibration and muffled beat that was coming from the floor.

"I wouldn't say wonderful..." Kayn laughed, he wasn't one for enjoyment. It just wasn't something he grew up with. The Order of The Shadow was very serious, Zed was _very_ serious. Petra's free spirit was something new to him.

"Nonsense." She spoke quietly, really getting into the beat of the music.

Kayn sat back, his eyes tracing all of Petra's curves. Her hips rocked back and forth, her arms sliding up her waist to her breasts. She swayed to the music, her skirt wrapping around the insides of her still damp thighs. She ran her hands through her hair, combing through the soft blonde curls. Her eyes were closed, her lips turning up in the corners ever so softly. She looked beyond enticing.

"Dance with me." Petra said, she looked at Kayn. She watched his eyes as they traveled over her body.

"I don't dance." He replied, sitting forward in his seat. "I'm happy here. Watching you." He smirked, biting his lower lip.

"Yeah?" Petra giggled, her hips swaying forward towards Kayn. "Dance with me? Please?"

His eyes lit up as she moved closer. She danced her way to his knees, her soft thighs rubbing against him. His hands reached out grabbing her hips. He opened his legs, pulling her in between his thighs. She spun around, her hips swinging back and forth above his lap.

Kayn stood up, pressing his warm body against hers. She kept dancing, her hands wrapping up and around his neck. He reached down, his palms bunching up the fabric of her shirt. Kayn slid his hands down her torso, his finger tips gently sliding across the waist line of her skirt. He felt goose bumps form on her skin as she crumbled a little from his touch.

"Kayn..." Petra whispered, her hips rocking more slowly now, grinding into Kayn's.

"Yes, love?" He replied, his lips brushing against her ear.

"I want this." She spoke, her hands sliding up through Kayn's hair.

He tensed at her words for only a moment before one hand reached down to her dress, pulling the fabric up so his fingers could find the inside of her thigh. His other hand wrapped around her chest to pull her closer into him. He held her there, his knuckles gently caressing her delicates.

Petra squirmed, her body trying to jolt forward. Kayn held her back, his fingers slipping under her panties to find her warm and wet. She squirmed again, a gasp escaping her lips. Kayn slid his hand deeper into her underwear, the warm tips of his fingers dragging up against her.

Petra moaned, her arms pulling forward to try and hold Kayn's hand back. The pleasure was almost unbearable.

"You don't want me to stop." Kayn hissed. She couldn't control her body, she was trying so hard to keep herself from screaming.

"Kayn. It feels so good." She breathed, her hands racing down to his, trying to pull his fingers away. "It feels too good."

He grinned, taking his free hand to grab a hold of hers. Her held her wrists tightly, restraining her from stopping him.

"You're going to make me scream." She managed out in between moans, the music still booming from below.

"Good. Scream." Kayn was hard and Petra's writhing and wiggling against him felt amazing. "Bend over." He demanded, unbuttoning his pants. He watched Petras eyes go wide when she caught a glimpse of him. "Bend over." He demanded again.

Petra did as she was told. She turned around to the chair and placed her arms on the back of it. She raised a knee to the seat and glanced over her shoulder at Kayn. He looked so masculine and sexy, she almost couldn't bear it. His hand reached out and slid under her, massaging her even more. She fell into his touch, her body becoming weak with pleasure.

"Be gentle." She whispered.

He grinned, she could barely walk. He picked her up and brought her over to the large bed. He laid her down, her soft skin just as soft as the blankets. She looked up at him, as he leaned over her, his lips trailing from the tips of her toes, up her leg, her thigh. He placed a soft kiss against her before pulling her to the edge of the bed. _It's a good thing the music is so damn loud_ He thought, realizing Petra was very loud herself.

He could have collapsed right then and there, the pleasure was indescribable. He pushed her away.

"You don't like it?" She pouted, her eyes glancing up to him.

"No, no. I like it. I like it a lot." He laughed, lifting her up. "It feels amazing."

"Then why stop?" She frowned.

"You don't need to." He made up an excuse as he too sat on the bed.

Truthfully, Kayn felt Rhaast taking over and it scared the hell out of him.


	23. Chapter 23

The duo regained their composure, slipping back into their clothes and fixing their hair. The music down stairs was positive and uplifting, and was they traveled down the stair well they heard cheering and clapping. When they entered the bar it seemed as though everyone was having a grand time. They were celebrating Katarina's safe return.

"Wow, she must be a big deal around here." Petra leaned into Kayn, hollering above all the sound.

He nodded, his eyes tracing the crowd. There was still folks in Noxus that were not Kayn's biggest fan and although he had the bar owner on his side, it wasn't a fight he wanted to pick. Not now, at least. Although he had Rhaast on his back hidden under his cloak, he shad began feeling sick again. Maybe it was the fact that Rhaast had tried to make an appearance while he and Petra were being intimate. Truthfully, if there wasn't what was in fact making him nauseous- he didn't know what was. And the thought of that detail being unknown made him feel even _more_ sick.

He put it in the back of his mind.

They entered into the crowd of Noxians, and as Petra and Kayn neared the bar the music halted. The crowd began to boo until Urgot stood atop the bar and gathered everyone's attention.

"We have a special guest with us tonight, folks!" He hollered above the low grumbling of the room. "The savior of my dear niece, Katarina is with us."

"Oh no..." Kayn whispered "Fuck. This isn't good."

"Where are you, son?" Urgot surveyed the crowd for Kayn until he spotted him, and then had the crowd push him forward to the bar. "This man went out of his way to save Katarina." Urgot coughed, then cleared his throat. "Everyone give a warm round of applause to out resident hero for the night, Kayn."

The crowd went nuts. Everyone immediately around Kayn began patting him on the back, handing him drink after drink. Urgot looked on, pleased with his formakl recognition of Kayn's heroic act. But Kayn, however, was not as thrilled.

"We need to leave Noxus." He pulled Petra close to him. "We need to leave _now_." He knew that if he were to need to fight anyone there's a good chance he'd loose. He still felt sick and it was in a way making him also feel weak, even with Rhaast inside of him.

Then, as if right on queue, the bar went silent. A hooded figure stumbled through the crowd towards Kayn. People were trying to stop the man, putting hands on his shoulders to try and pull him back. But still he trudged forward until he was only a few feet away from Kayn. The bar had separated it's self, leaving an open floor for the mystery man and their Hero.

Kayn held his arm out in front of Petra, shooing her to the back. He recognized the dirty hood. It was one of the men from the swamp. Now that he thought about it, they did leave without killing the last one. _Talon_.

"You?" He spat, his body dirty and heavy with defeat. "You're Zed's prodigy?" Talon laughed wickedly.

Kayn said nothing, only slid his hand up to Rhaast, prepared to fight.

"Well I guess you proved your talent at the swamp." He spat "But you forgot something. Me." In the blink of an eye Talon disappeared, a dozen daggers flying towards Kayn. Another blink and he was behind Kayn, the daggers flying straight through him. Kayn fell to his knees, his hand reaching up to his chest. He felt a sharp pain by his heart and he could't tell if he were stabbed or going into cardiac arrest.

"You're nothing. I'll kill you and bring your head to Zed on a platter." Talon lunged at Kayn, and just in time Kayn rolled out of the way. Talon hit the floor, almost immediately pulling himself back to his feet.

No one in the bar intercepted the fight. Instead, they all stood in a circle egging it on. Urgot was holding Katarina back, as she seemed to be trying to jump into the fight to help. Petra was also at a loss, doing her best to conjure crystals. Being inside made it difficult, and she was having a hard time doing anything productive.

"Kayn, get up!" Petra screamed as Talon walked over, grabbing Kayn by his scalp. Kayn was lifted up to his knees by his hair. His hands rushed to pull Rhaast from his back, but failed when Talon yanked him up even higher into the air. He held a dagger to Kayn's throat now, and the bar truely fell silent... But not because of the knife to his throat.

Rhaast had arrived, it happened far quicker than it ever had before. The crowd was not frantic, some even leaving the bar while they had the chance. The demon grasped Talon's hand and crushed it inside of his large palm. Talon staggered backwards, grasping his broken limb in immense pain.

" _Swine_!" Rhaast scoffed, walking towards Talon. "You have chosen the wrong fight, fool." He took Talon's other hand and snapped that one back as well. He screamed in pain, falling to the floor for mercy. "Now run along, back to Zed. I should have known he had something to do with this." Rhaast pulled Talon to his feet by his neck. "You tell _Master Zed_ that I'm coming for him. Tell him he can't stop it, not matter how many innocent fighters he kidnaps for his own army." Rhaast boomed with laughter. "That's what he's doing, isn't he?" When Talon didn't reply, Rhaast grasped tighter. "Answer me or I'll pull your hands _off_."

Talon began frantically nodding, his teeth grinding in pain. His daggers laid about the floor, and in one last-ditch effort he called them back. They flew towards him, piercing Rhaast with no effect, then crashed back to the floor as he had no hands to gather them with.

"You can not kill me." Rhaast boomed "I am immortal. This vessel, Kayn, is immortal. Now run back to Zed and deliver this message." Rhaast tossed Talon to the floor like a rag. The crowd looked on as Talon scrambled to pull himself up and leave the building in a wave of horror.

"Lets leave." Rhaast spoke, looking to Petra. Her eyes grew wide, almost under about following the demon. " _Now._ " He hissed.

Petra complied, her eyes glancing back to Soraka and Katarina. Neither of them knew what to do. It was clear they thought about following, but it was to be assumed that they wished to follow _Kayn..._ not Rhaast.

Now it was only the two of them. Rhaast had a steady pace as he headed for the outside of Noxus. He didn't say anything, he also didn't show any signs of Kayn returning any time soon. Petra did her best to keep up, but she was tired and truthfully a little scared. She had just witnessed Kayn almost loose his head. That scared her more than Rhaast did.

"Where are we going?" She finally whispered, picking up her pace to catch up with the large demon.

"We're leaving Noxus." He growled.

"I know, but to where?" She questioned, darting in front of Rhaast to stop him. "I refuse to follow you blindly. Where are we going? Where is Kayn?"

Rhaast stopped walking and glared at the girl. "We're going to Zaun." He said, matter-of-factly.

Petra's brows furrowed. "Why? Why in the world would we go _to_ the enemy? And I asked here Kayn was. Where is he?" She demanded.

Rhaast rolled his neck, taking a deep breath in. "Kayn is not strong enough to come back right now." He admitted, his voice full of anger and regret.

"And so you're taking us to _Zaun_?" She hissed, using all of her weight to push Rhaast back. "Asshole! Bring Kayn back."

Rhaast couldn't help but chuckle at her sad attempt at authority. "Say what you will, but you will follow. You have no where else to go."

Petra didn't speak. She stood in the middle of the road in the dark as Rhaast circled around her and continued walking. He wasn't wrong, and that pissed her off.

Suddenly a crystal flew from the ground and pierced through Rhaasts hip. He buckled, completely caught off guard. Petra conjured more crystals and sent them whirling towards him, watching as they pierced his rough red skin.

"We stay out of Zaun until Kayn can fight." She growled, holding her fround firmly.

Rhaast pulled the crystal shards from his body and stormed over to Petra. He grabbed her hair, pulling her towards him as he spoke. "You do not tell me what to do, _child_." He hissed "You have no authority over me."

Petra whimpered as he tightened his grip on her scalp. "We stay out of Zaun-" She started, his other hand finding her throat. "We stay out until Kayn can fight."

Suddenly Rhaast quaked, his body beginning to turn back to human for only a moment. During that second Petra was released. She looked on, watching what she assumed was Kayn fighting back for his body.

"I'll leave you in the damn woods." It was Kayn's voice.

"You wouldn't _dare._ " Rhaast retorted.

"I'd rather live a mortal life than buckle to your demands." Kayn's voice quivered as it came from the mouth of Rhaast. "Leave now." He demanded.

" _You wouldn't dare._ " Rhaast repeated.

Petra watched, mortified at the entire situation. She felt uneasy, she felt unsafe. She wanted to do something other than watch, but there was quite literally nothing she could do.

"Leave me now!" Kayn yelled, the more human side of him staking over. He reached for the scythe and held it out firmly, threatening to drop it right then and there. "If I leave you, you will be alone for the rest of your miserable existence." It was beginning to look more and more like Kayn. "Leave now, or I leave you here for the rest of eternity."

And just like that all signs of Rhaast left, save for Kayn's one glowing red eye...


	24. Chapter 24

Petra and Kayn walked quietly for a while. It was obvious Kayn was tired, physically and mentally, and Petra wasn't sure how to handle him. She watched his muscular shoulders heave up and down, his skin pale and sickly. He wasn't himself, and it wasn't good. His feet were beginning to fail him, too. She could tell he was ready to collapse at any moment by the way he stumbled and silently tried to catch himself every time. Petra wanted to rip that damned scythe off his back and be gone with it forever.

"Kayn..." She whispered "Why don't we stop and rest for a while?" Petra put a hand on his shoulder to hold him still as he swayed when he stopped walking.

"Alright." He nodded, dropping to the ground under a large oak tree. Petra sat next to him, her back resting against the hard bark. She pulled Kayn to her, placing his heavy head in her lap. "Just rest." She whispered, her nimble fingers running through his long black hair.

"We can't stop for long." Kayn spoke, eyes fighting their heavy lids.

"We won't. Just rest."

They both fell asleep in the woods under the tree. Petra woke to the sun shining through the leaves, the warm rays coxing her conscious. Once she realized that they had slept the whole night she became temporarily frantic, wiggling her way out from under Kayn and rising to her feet.

"Kayn," Petra nugged him awake, he too springing to life.

"We slept all night?" He asked, his hands immediately rushing to the scythe on his back. "Fuck." He breathed.

"I'm sorry, I just-" She began.

"Shhhh..." Kayn covered her mouth. He was silent for a moment. "Do you hear that?" He whispered.

Petra listened closely but couldn't hear anything. "Wh-"

"Someone is close by, it's a women." He kept listening. "She's with a man, as well. They're walking this way."

"What do you want to do? They many not even be hostile." Petra replied, her voice barely rising above a whisper. "We're not in Noxus anymore."

"I guess we'll find out." He leaned his head towards the direction of the two walking. They became visible as they weaved in and out of the trees. They didn't seem threatening, and so Petra decided to take things into her own hands.

"Hi, there!" She called out, waving in their direction. The two walking stopped and looked on.

"Petra." Kayn hissed, immediately putting on the most pleasant and non-suspicious face he could.

"We're looking for directions." She called out, starting to approach the couple. They too began walking towards Kayn and Petra.

"Where are you trying to get to?" The man called out. As they neared, Petra could see it was a young man and woman. The man wore a long coat with a western style hat, the girl dressed in a very beautiful flowing purple dress. They seemed to be a couple, and they didn't seem threatening in anyway. Petra grabbed Kayn's hand, pulling him close to her.

"We're trying to get to... Tempest Flats." Petra decided. Kayn glanced over to her, head cocked. He didn't say a word.

"Luck for you that's where we'red headed. The Mana Festival is tomorrow, are you going to it, too?" The beautiful tan women asked.

Petra nodded slowly "Yes. We are. But we've never been to Tempest Flats, we thought we were lost."

"Well why don't you follow us. It's a couple hours west from here." The man smiled from under his hat.

"That would be fantastic! Thank you so much!" Petra smiled back, yanking at Kayn so he would smile as well. "Lead the way!"

The couple began walking again, Petra and Kayn following in toe. They had no plan, no idea what they were doing or what they would possibly do in Tempest Flats when they got there other than go to this festival that they had no honest interest in. The story was being made up as they traveled, and Petra was running out of fake talking points.

After about an hour of walking with hollow conversation, really the only important bit of information received was their names, Karma and Tobias; Petra noticed that Karma had become stiff until she finally stopped walking. Kayn and Petra glanced at each other as Karma glanced back at them with furrowed brows.

"You're not following us for the reason you say you are." She bluntly spoke, her eyes beginning to glow bight teal. "Why are you following us to Tempest Flats?"

Tobias became instantly tense, but seemingly confused. He stood behind Karma, but it was obvious he had as much of a clue as Kayn and Petra did.

"Excuse me?" Petra cocked her head, her heart pounding.

"It took me a while to read your auras." Karma began, stepping in closer to Petra. "You demons are always hard to read."

Petra's eyes widened, she had no retort. Instead she silently looked on as Karma walked in a circle around her and Kayn.

"So what do you really want?" Karma asked.

"I'm looking for a Witch." Kayn spoke up, stepping forward. "I've been possessed by a demon and I'm looking for answers." He glanced at Petra. She realized he was being serious, and began nodding in agreement.

"Well you've found one." Karma said, not breaking eye contact with Kayn. "What do you want to know."

"Am I dying?" He asked bluntly, his question creating a hole in Petra's heart. She looked on as Karma's facial expression softened.

"You feel like you're dying?" Karma asked him, a small sliver of pity creeping into her voice.

"I do." Kayn quietly answered "The demon and I worked together for so long. Suddenly now something isn't right. I feel like I'm dying." Kayn's face was blank, he had no expression. Though, his tone implied he felt terrible for admitting such a sensitive thing to complete strangers.

"Come," Karma held her hands out to Kayn. "Let me see you for who you really are. I'll tell you what this demon is doing."

Kayn looked suspicious now and it became very obvious how serious this was to him as he didn't even question Karma. He stepped forward and held his rough and dirty hands out and she grasped them, holding them tightly in her small palms. Petra watched as her eyes glowed, a teal aura wrapping around them both. Karma's eyes flicked red for just a moment and she pulled Kayn closer to her.

"Why have you brought me to this witch?" It was Rhaast's voice echoing from Karma's lips. Her friend, Tobias, jumped back at the same time as Petra did. Both of them looked on in horror as Rhaast seemed to be speaking from inside of Karma. She let go of his hands, her eyes widening as she slowly stepped away from him.

"The demon is trying to weed you out." She spoke "He's trying to push you out of your own body."

Kayn looked worried, the first Petra has ever seen any sort of doubt come across his face. "What do I do?" He asked.

"Get rid of the scythe or find someone to bind you both together." Karma was still backing away slowly.

"Bind us?" Kayn questioned "Can you do that?"

"No." She snapped at him "No I can't."

"I don't understand." Kayn was confused, it was obvious now that he was becoming nervous.

"You need to do one of those two things and do them quickly." Karma grabbed for Tobias' hand and began pulling him away. "We don't want any trouble from you two, please just let us leave."

"Please don't leave us." Petra spoke "Let us follow you to Tempest Flats." Just as Petra went to grab Kayn's hand, hoping to catch up to the couple, Rhaast spoke again.

"Don't listen to her, fool." He growled, Kayn slowly loosing control again. "She lies."

"Petra go without me." Kayn managed out.

"I'm not leaving you, not like this. You can do this, it's your body." Petra cried, glancing back over her shoulder, hoping Karma had turned around to help. To her disdain they were long gone.

"We need to find someone to bind us." Kayn growled, fighting with himself as Rhaast tried to take over.

" _Nonsense._ " Rhaast chimed in.

"Kayn..." Petra grasped his face in her hands "I need you to stay with me. We'll make it to Tempest Flats our selves. We'll find someone to fix you."

Kayn looked into Petra's eyes, his hands holding her's against his skin. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss against her lips. "I don't know how long I can go on like this." He whispered.

Rhaast boomed with laughter and Kayn shut him out once more, his whole body quaking as he suppressed the demon.

"Then lets get moving."

WRITER'S NOTE:

 _Thank you all so much for your support! I've never felt so motivated to finish a fanfic before! I'm so happy you're enjoying the story, and I hope you all stick around for the ending. Thank you again! 3_


	25. Chapter 25

Rhaast was forged in fire and chaos. He was made for horror, designed to destroy hope, and destined to be alone for all eternity; Stuck inside that damned weapon. Confined and punished by his creator for being impossible to wield. There was never any intention of giving Rhaast to anyone, there was never even the thought of him escaping the confines of that damned scythe. His creation, though for partially for the ultimate form of destruction, was mostly as a cruel joke to the demon. Give him a home, a vessel, and then bind him to it for all eternity unless he is able to find the one and only human able to hold him without bursting into flames or complete insanity.

Rhaast had come across many men who held him for some time, but none ever keeping him as long as Kayn. They would all pick him up and it would happen the same: Their body would shift, much like Kayn's did as Rhaast took over, trying out his new shoes. Their pupils would dilate, their hair would turn bleach white, and they would quickly loose their mind. Many of them killing them selves before they could start scratching off their own skin or gouging out their own eyes. Rhaast had seen it hundreds of times.

But Kayn... Kayn was different. When he picked up Rhaast it felt like a stepping into the most perfect coat. His body changed, but not in the way the other's did. His body became more muscular and rugged when Rhaast entered him. He became more homey...

It took a few days for Rhaast to figure out he had found his owner. He refused to believe it, expecting the human to one day wake up absolutely mad. But Kayn handled him with ease, and he was constantly aware of the scythe. He knew in the right hands Rhaast could be the purest of evil. But what Kayn didn't know is that _only one_ could wield Rhaast- and that was Kayn himself.

For a long time Kayn and Rhaast worked together. They battled in sync, Rhaast intercepting only when he felt necessary. They did this for a long time, and they did it well. Their team fight was incredible, and it was that synergy that got them exiled from The Order of The Shadows. It wasn't until Petra came along that things changed...

Kayn became infatuated with this girl, Petra. Withing only days Rhaast felt the disconnect between himself and Kayn. He felt himself loosing his grasp on the human's mind, and that angered him. As the human Kayn taught the girl to fight, things became quite clear. Kayn was out to protect Petra, not himself. Kayn had subconsciously put Petra first, and that put Rhaast second.

As time went on Rhaast spoke to Kayn more and more. He went from words of encouragement and intelligence to words of hatred and demeaning comments. This started slowly, but as Kayn grew to care for Petra it became clear that Rhaast needed to act fast if he intend on keeping the human's body. He didn't want to share, not with the demon girl.

Rhaast began pulling Kayn from sanity more and more frequently. While fighting this was fine, but outside of battle Rhaast noticed Kayn becoming sluggish and sickly. It had progressed so far that he felt he couldn't even turn back and stop it. The damage had already been done. Kayn was going mental, he was loosing his grasp on reality. The more and more Rhaast showed up, the less Kayn could stand, the less he could handle, and the less he could do.

Petra was a pain, she was much stronger than she realized- Kayn encouraged that. Rhaast had a sneaking suspicion that Petra was a demon similar to himself, and that made him nervous. So, in infesting Kayn, he hoped to push Petra away. He hoped that by erasing all that Kayn was to her, all that they shared together- that she would scare and run off. But that was not the case, she stayed. She tried to help him, she tried to fight Rhaast...

While this wasn't much now, while she didn't do much harm _now,_ it was only a matter of time before Petra met Rhaast's abilities. And to his disdain, he had a sneaking suspicion that Petra was also immortal. Very young, and _very_ naive, but immortal.

Rhaast noted every time Kayn threatened to leave him. He realized he was pushing very hard, and that if he wasn't careful he would push Kayn so hard that he lose his vessel all together. He couldn't go any further without a physical body, it was so hard. A life of quiet insanity was no life to live. He had just found Kayn, he couldn't afford to loose him just yet. But... he also wanted to rid of Kayn all together. Rhaast wanted to push Kayn into the scythe and take his body for himself. That was the goal, and he was so, _so_ , close.


	26. Chapter 26

Kayn and Petra eventually reached Tempest Flats. It was a slow journey, as Kayn was tired and only growing weaker. For the first part of the day he refused help from Petra, leaning against the scythe like a cane. Leaning ok the very thing that was handicapping him. Towards their arrival Kayn buckled and finally allowed Petra to slip an arm under him, supporting him as he stumbled along the beaten path. It was a grueling walk, one that took a toll on both of them.

By the time they got there it was sun down and the festival had already started. Hundreds upon hundreds of witches, warlocks, and others of the assorted types walked the streets. Their magic radiated all around the city and the moment Kayn and Petra entered they felt the aura of sheer magical power.

Kayn kept his head down low and Petra did her best to keep the support of his tired body as nonchalant as possible. He had returned the scythe to his back and so he became far more unsteady than he lead on.

"Kayn are you going to make it into the center of town?" She spoke, her eyes catching the gaze of concerned and hesitant festival goers.

"I don't know." He admitted, even his voice sounding weak and sickly. "We need to get somewhere I can sit quickly."

Petra nodded, trudging forward. She navigated through the crowd doing her best to keep him from getting knocked down by accidental strangers shoulders, but as they reached the heart of the festival it became harder and harder to keep going. He had almost fallen at least half a dozen times and Petra wasn't sure if she could lift Kayn's weight from the ground.

"Petra..." Kayn managed out. "Petra, Rhaast is coming. " he stopped walking and vomited on the ground in front of him, his body turning cold sending shivers down his spine.

"Oh my god." Petra gasped "Kayn... that's all blood. You must have just vomited a pint of blood." She we terrified now as she watched his skin flush of all color. His one blue eye glossed over and was replaced by a white film. "Kayn..."

He began to stagger, his body dragging him down to the ground in the puddle of his own blood.

She became lost, unsure of what to do next. People were gathering around watching him collapse. They pointed and covered their mouthes in awe then moved on. It was only a matter of time before they were escorted out and Petra was loosing her cool.

Then, suddenly, two sets of arms lifted Kayn from the ground. Petra liked up, shocked to see Soraka and Katerina standing by her side.

"How did you find us?" Petra asked, relieved to have friendly help.

"We performed a locator spell. It was easy to find you, Rhaast's presence is so strong right now." Speaks said, pushing Kayn's hair from his face to get a look at his eyes.

"We need to get him to a witch that can perform a binding spell." Petra urged, helping them lift Kayn's limp body.

"I know someone. But we need to go now, he doesn't even look alive." Katarina said, beginning to lead the way, navigating through the crowd to a silent street away from festival.

She lead them to a small home tucked in between a shop and a deli. It was hidden in such a way that you wouldn't expect someone to live there, but they approached the door and Katarina laid a hard fist against the wood.

"I hope she's home. If she's not we may be shit out of luck." She banged on the wood again, peeking through the small window at the top of the door.

"Who's there?" A female voice called from the other side of the door.

"It's Katarina. I'm with friends and we desperately need help." Her voice was laced with intense urgency.

Kayn's body had gone entirely limp, almost dead weight. Every now and then he tried to raise his head but it was sent whirling back down as his red eye glowed menacingly.

The door opened after a series of chains and deadbolts unlocked and a purple haired girl peeked out.

"What in the world?" She asked, her eyes drawing to Kayn.

"We need a witch to bind him to a demon." Katarina gave the overview of the situation. The girl looked confused.

"You want me to bind a demon to him?" She helped them bring him inside and laid him across her bed. Her home was one room, you could yell she didn't get out much.

Petra showed her the scythe on his back and then his one red eye. "He's been possessed by the demon from this scythe."

"Is that the..?" She began.

"Yes. It is." Katarina nodded before Petra had to answer.

"Shit." The purple haired girl said "I head about him. He's the only one able to wield this thing." She went to touch it but Petra shooed her hand away.

"Don't. You can't." She covered the scythe with his clock again. "We met a women who read his aura. She said the demon was tying to kick him out of his own body." Petra ran a hand threw his hair, her concern rising. "She said if we bind the demon to Kayn they'll be forced to work together."

"That could work in theory. But I'm not sure I can-" the girl began.

Petra cut her off "Please just try."

After some prep the witch was ready. She set up around her bed where Kayn was passed out. Herbs and incense filling the room with a musky sent. She lit candles and placed them all over the floor carefully in a circle.

The girl closed her eyes and laid a hand on Kayn's head. She began mumbling under her breath, the candle flames rising high.

Suddenly Kayns body rose, leaning into the witches hand. Both of this eyes glowed red and horns slowly began to show on his head.

" _Die, witch_." It was Rhaast, and he wasn't happy...


	27. Chapter 27

Rhaast was taking over Kayn's body. The girls took a step back , looking on as the witch continued to press firmly against the demon's skull. His body began to rise from the bed, a large red hand swinging up towards the witches face. She cast a shield around herself, deflecting his blow. Under her hand began to smoke, the candle flames rising and rising, leaning in towards the demon as he writhed in anguish.

" _I will kill you,_ " Rhaast boomed. His voice echoing throughout the room, vibrating the walls. Items dressed around her home began to fall and hit the floor, glass shattering everywhere. " _You will pay, you can not over power me!_ " His voice was ferocious and dark, it sent shivers down Petra's spin as she watched the ritual unfold.

The witch held strong, steadfast to his threatening remarks. He tried his hardest to break her shield, but could not. Her hand stayed pressed to him, continuing to whisper the spell during all the chaos. Rhaasts skin began to turn black from under her hand, and suddenly the scythe pulled from the demon's back and hovered in the air about them.

" _Don't do this!_ " Rhaast's voice started to sound unsure, his red eyes widening as he realized the witch was succeeding in binding him to the human.

The scythe began to spin in the air, smoke emitting from the long blade. It caught flame and heat radiated throughout the tiny room, embers hitting the floor around Rhaast and the witch. Her voice became louder, she yelled out the binding spell above Rhaast agonizing cries. It was lucky that no one was around as it sounded like murder, like the end of the world.

She chanted the same words over and over again, smoke flooding the room as everything around them began to catch fire. Soraka realized the witch needed help and began chanting with her, leading Katarina and Petra to do the same. Soon all four girls were belting the binding spell, their hands entwining with the witches, forming a circle around Rhaast.

Then, suddenly, all the flames darted towards Rhaast, engulfing his body and almost immediately going out leaving Kayn's human body behind. The witch dropped her shield, staggering back into a chair. Petra ran to Kayn, lifting him up to look at his face. One eye was still red, his other returning to it's natural blue state. She was shocked to see that his left arm had kept the color of Rhaast's skin, his finger tips now sharp black talon's to replace his nails. The red skin reached over onto his shoulder and across the left side of his chest and faded out into Kayn's human skin like it had always been there. He was truly part demon now.

"Kayn?" Petra looked into his eyes. He slowly came too, frantically feeling about the the scythe that had dropped to the bed next to him. He grasped it in his hand, his eyes racing to his new arm. He looked at it closely, mortified to find it was permanent.

"What the hell happened?" He asked, looking around the room at the girls.

"I've bound the demon to you." The witch spoke "Now he is nothing without you, as you will be nothing without him. Do not ever loose that scythe, as within 24 hours you will perish and so will the demon."

Kayn's brow furrowed, not fully comprehending what was just said. "So we are no longer immortal?" He asked.

"You are immortal in each other's hands. If you loose one, you loose the other."

"How do you feel?" Petra asked, she felt she had done the right thing but her fingers were mentally crossed as she eagerly awaited Kayn's comment.

"I feel... amazing." He smiled, looking up to Petra. "I feel better than I ever have, with or without Rhaast."

She grinned, pleased to hear that he was ok. She extended her gin to the witch, embracing her in a hug. "Thank you." She whispered.

They helped the witch clean her home, leaving her with a hefty amount of gold to compensate her for the broke items the ritual caused. When they left the sun had began to rise, the streets of Tempest Flats illuminating in brilliant shades of red and orange. Petra couldn't help but admire the new glow Kayn had adopted. He was alive, and strong- he emitted pure power like fire emits heat.

Exhausted the girls put themselves up in a small bed and breakfast right in the center of town. It was quaint and over priced, but everyone was tired. They shuffled into rooms, Soraka and Katarina falling asleep almost as soon as their tired bodies hit the old beds. Petra had rented the small room across the hall, Kayn following in-toe. She herself was utterly exhausted, but Kayn was wide awake, energy coursing through his veins.

"I'm going to sleep." Petra laid on the bed, wiggling out of her dirty and worn cloths. She slid her bare body under the blankets, pulling them up over her head. "We'll stay the night and leave in the morning." She decided, a large exhale escaping her lips in the comfort of the blanket cocoon she made around herself. "You should be sure-" She yawned "- To rest up too, Kayn."

She quietly nodded off leaving Kayn wide awake on the side of the bed. He wasn't tired at all, and instead more intrigued with his new transformation. His eyes studied his new arm closely, realizing he had never actually _seen_ Rhaast. He stood and wondered into the terribly small and dim bathroom where he stared at himself in the mirror. There was blood splattered across his face- his blood. He ran the cold water, splashing the dried crimson away from his skin. Kayn went back to studying his body closely. He was intrigued with the change, the demonic deformation that was now his arm. He flexed his sharp finger tips, running them along the sink leaving thing lines engraved into the porcelain.

 _Well, well, well..._ Rhaast spoke from inside Kayn's mind. _It looks like it's just you and me for all eternity now._ He didn't sound amused.

"It does, doesn't it?" Kayn retorted, his eyes meeting his reflection in the mirror. Rhaast was flowing about him, patches of his skin turning red then vanishing.

 _Hah- I'm sure you're pleased._ He hissed.

Kayn grinned into the mirror. "I am." He took a deep breath in "Why were you trying to kill me?" He asked quietly, staring directly into his own eyes from the mirror.

There was silence for a few moments before Rhaast began. _I can not control the love you have for the girl, Petra. Your affection for her will make you weak, it was making you weak. It made me weak._ His words seared anger into Kayn's mind.

"So you would kill me because of it? Because of my human emotion?" His brows furrowed at Rhaast's comment.

 _Yes._ He affirmed, _I am not human. I can not afford to be weakened by petty human affinities. I crave only one thing: Power._

Kayn scoffed at his remark. "She does not make me weak." He said " _You_ made me weak when you tried to kill me."

 _I tried to protect myself._ Rhaast fought back. _I tried to keep myself alive, I refuse to spend all eternity stuck inside that damned weapon._

"Well now you don't have to. Now you have one option, and only one. _Me._ "

 _I only ever had one option, and that was always you. The scythe was only my confine if you were not in the picture._

"So you thought keeping my body would keep you alive? With out me?" Kayn laughed. "You're not as smart as you try and come off, Rhaast."

 _Apparently not, Kayn. For here we are, attached to one another for all of eternity._


	28. Chapter 28

*** _The following chapter contains explicit_ _content inten_ _ded for mature readers only. If sexual scenes make you feel uncomfortable, you can scroll down and begin reading after the page break._ _***_

"Are you alright?" A groggy, naked Petra asked as she quietly crept up on Kayn in the bathroom.

"I am. Did I wake you?" He frowned, his eyes catching hers before drawing down to her breasts.

"Mmmhmm..." She stretched, her knuckles rubbing against her eyes. "Everything is alright?" She became serious, looking down to Kayn's demonic arm and hand.

"Yes, love. Everything is fine." He approached her, grasping her waist in his human arm. His corrupted hand reaching to her face, gently caressing her cheek. He felt goosebumps form atop her skin, her cheeks turning red as she looked away.

Kayn turned her head back to his and he leaned in, placing his lips against hers. "Thank you." He whispered, his words vibrating against her lips. He returned to the comfort of her mouth, his tongue finding it's way in between. Her heart fluttered against his chest and he pulled her closer, being diligent with his newly found razor sharp left hand.

"For what?" Petra asked, though she knew the answer. She wanted to hear him say it. She wanted the recognition.

Kayn lifted her body, placing her on the cold porcelain sink. Goosebumps ran across her thighs as he parted them, then disappeared as his warm body pressed up against her. He continued to kiss her, more and more deeply. "You saved me." He managed out in between parted lips.

Kayn felt Petra grin beneath his lips. His right hand fell to her thigh and he pulled her closer to him. She jerked forward and Kayn's hand slid in between them as he un-did the buttons of his pants. They continued kissing, the mirror behind Petra becoming foggy as the bathroom filled with the heat from their bodies. Then, just as Kayn slid himself into her, there was a knock on their bedroom door followed by Katarina's voice.

Kayn inhaled deeply, thrusting into Petra one last time just to hear her moan. He pulled away, fixing himself before leaving her in the bathroom to situate herself. Katarina's fists pounded against the door more frantically now, and Kayn trotted over to let her in.

"Morgana, the witch the binded you, she's gone." Katarina was frantic as she stormed into the room.

"How do you know this?" He cocked his head, confused as to how she found this out within only a few hours of leaving the witch.

"I couldn't sleep, I thought I'd go and see her." Katarina was pacing back and forth.

"And? What did you find? How do you know she wasn't just home?" Kayn was trying to be reasonable or at least find the missing piece of information as something was not adding up.

"Her door was kicked in and her home was trashed." She was panicking. "There was a note on her table addressed to you." She pulled a piece of paper from the satchel that sat at her hip and handed it to him.

Kayn started down at the note, his brows furrowed with anger as he read it aloud.

 _Kayn, it would seem you've killed some of my men. I think it's only fair if I take some of your's from you.  
\- The Order Of The Shadow_

Kayn crumpled the paper in his fist. He took in a deep breath, his eyes closing in guilt. "We're going to Zaun to get her." He said.

"This is all my fault. They're going to kill her, aren't they?" Tears began streaming down Katarina's cheeks.

"They're not going to kill her." Kayn affirmed.

"How can you be sure?" She cried.

"Because they know she is connected to me. They left this note to get to me." He growled "And that is exactly what they'll get." Kayn was angry. He knew they must have been following him, they had to have been. How else would they have found the witch? But how long had they been stalked? How much did they see and _who_ saw it? Kayn flipped the small coffee table as his rage hit it's peak. "Get some rest now. We leave at night fall.


	29. Chapter 29

The first time Kayn thought he was dying was when he was 10. As a secret Noxian himself, which he often chose to forgot and ignore as a fact, he was drafted as a child soldier. Within only a year of pathetic servitude Kayn had blossomed into what a seasoned soldier would look like. Hard, cold, stern, tactical, fearless, and powerful. He had been fated for failure and prevailed in the eye of combat. He surpassed his peers becoming strong, fast, and courageous. But all it took was one fight, one war to change that.

At the mouth of the Epool River a bloody civil war broke loose. The army of young soldiers were sent into a no-win battle, and were destined to die. It was a fools job, no one was expected to survive. But while Kayn's peers were foiled under the weight of war Kayn prevailed, fighting to the girt end where he saw his very life flash before his eyes. Amidst the bloodbath of a slaughter young Kayn's seemingly lifeless body blended in with the other corpses.

He was too weak to pull himself to his feet and the sight of his dead peers seared into his mind, leaving traces of doubt and utter defeat. He had realized no one was coming for him, as no one expected survivors. So Kayn lay on the cold hard ground in a pool of blood that was not his own and stared blankly into the distance as the sun began to set over the Ironspike Mountains.

Hours, or even days could have went by. He lost track of time and could physically feel himself becoming weaker and weaker. But then, just as all hope had truly been lost, a dark and shadowy figure approached him. His vision was blurred, but still Kayn raised his weapon as high as he could and swung out at the figure who stood before him.

His arm hit the ground as the man stepped on the blade. Kayn's eyes focused in on the figure that loomed over him, an arm extending out to the young boy.

"What is your name?" The shadowy figure breathed from under a metal slotted mask.

Kayn did not reach out for his hand, only stared angrily at the man. The stranger called over another shadowy figure who lifted Kayn's war-beaten body from the ground. With the last ounce of might the young boy had he flailed his legs about, doing his best to break free.

"No!" He cried out "Let me die here alone." His voice quivered as the masked man leaned in closely to his face.

"What is your name?" He repeated himself, a sharp blade pushing up against Kayn's neck.

Hesitantly he gulped, his eyes trying their best to focus on the mystery man. "Shieda Kayn." He did his best to not sound defeated.

"Shieda Kayn you're coming with us. You've been spared." The masked man began to walk away, several other masked men following his lead. They had put Kayn down, and he stood their confused as they made off without him.

"You best keep up, Shieda Kayn." The leader hollered from the front of the pack. "You're going to _want_ to."

Kayn did indeed follow the group of masked strangers. Many times he fell very far behind, but after all he had kept up and it was very much to his advantage. He had ended up accepting an indirect invitation into The Order Of The Shadows. He was raised by their leader, Zed. He was taught the way of a shadow assassin, and then mastered every weapon he could put his hands on.

It was clear that Kayn was quickly meeting Zed's skill, and that was when Zed sent him on a mission he was sure that Kayn would fail: Retrieve the living demon scythe, Rhaast. Really, it wasn't meant to be a retrieval, it was meant to be a funeral. Master Zed knew Kayn would try and take the weapon for himself, it was far too tempting for the weaponry master that he was to deny. It was to Zed's demise that Kayn did in fact take Rhaast for himself, but was able to skillfully wield it.

Kayn returned to his Master, and things seemed normal for only a short while. Rhaast has quickly corrupted the young assassin, and soon he was too much of a liability to keep in The Order Of The Shadows, thus being exiled from the clan.

Hatred flowed through Kayn's veins much like it did Zed's and this mutual thirst for power and greatness fueled them both to constant battle. While Kayn did his best not to seek Zed out, it was obvious that Zed made a point to hunt Kayn down whenever he had the chance. It became no secret that Zed wanted the scythe for himself. It was clear that he wanted Kayn dead for what he called tyranny, even though Kayn's theft of the scythe was premeditated.

The group left the bed and breakfast as soon as the sky became dark. They escaped through the back, doing their best to avoid being followed any further. Kayn wanted to catch Zed off guard, he didnt not want anyone reporting back to him this time. They left Tempest Flats through the thick woods that bordered it. The goal was to get t the coast and follow the shoreline back up to Noxus, sneaking into Zaun through the ocean. Maybe even catch a boat into the Zaun harbor, if it were at all possible to fool anyone from Zaun. Kayn knew there was a good chance that Zad put a hefty bounty on his head, and venturing into the city with little to no intentions of trying to stay hidden may not work out. Especially if Zed had been recruiting.

It was clear that the group was still exhausted, but they knew they had a mission to complete. Kayn felt they had a sturdy group between the four of them. It was no where near an army, but it had the complete cast. Damage, magic, healing, and strength. Kayn knew that he could easily take on most of the assassins that would come at them before Zed stepped in, he knew all their moves already as Kayn mastered them years ago. It would be an easy fight, and he knew Zed already knew that, too.

As they walked along the water, the sound of waves crashing against the shore, Kayn could only think about one thing: Zed's dead body beneath his feet. It seemed Rhaast was on the same page, too. As the sheer thought sent powerful jolts of energy through his demonic limb. They would work together again, and Kayn was eager to see what their new combined strengths could accomplish.


	30. Chapter 30

It was like deja vu. Again, off on a rescue mission to save a kidnapped friend. This time around they knew who the kidnapper was, and they had an idea of what to expect. Likely there would be bloodshed, and hopefully it wasn't their blood.

As they reached the coast Petra could feel Kayn's tension rise. He was stressed, but still seemed to have a confident nonchalant way about him. She couldn't help but to admire the way he held his head high as they quietly walked in the dark. His blue eye reflecting the waves as they crashed into the sand. The moon reflected against that damned scythe and first she cringed, but then found a way to admire the demon weapon. This demon has caused her so much trouble in the past week, but she noted how much she learned from the bastard. It was sad to admit that she had a connection to the demon like she did Kayn.

She stopped admiring the demon. He did, after all, try and kill her new love interest.

Petra quickened her pace so she was walking beside Kayn. She glanced up at him, staring until he met her eyes as well. "Are you ok?" She quietly asked.

Kayn pursed his lips, their corners slowly dragging upwards into a slow smile. "What do you mean?" He questioned, his eyes reverting forward.

"You're on your way to kill the man that raised you. Are you ok?" Petra explained, still looking at him. She searched his face for any emotion, but while looking at his demon eye she didn't get much.

"Well..." He began, pausing for a moment. His brows furrowed as he thought about his answer and Petra did her best to get a view at the rest of his face without being too obvious. "I'm ok." He replied. A very anti-climactic response.

"Are you?" She asked again. "That wasn't a very reassuring answer."

"I'm ok because I _have_ to be ok." Kayn said, his voice not raising any higher than the waves. "I have to be ok because of that's at stake."

Petra nodded "Do you think you'll be able to do it?" She whispered, her face turning forward so the girls behind them couldn't read her lips.

"Do what?" Kayn matched her whisper.

"Kill him?" Her eyes shifted to the side to get a look at him. She watched his shoulders heave up and down as he inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"Yes. I want to do it." Kayn spoke "I guess I just don't enjoy the honor-less circumstance of the situation." He sighed, his eyes glancing back down at Petra. "I imagined an epic brawl. One between just him and me. No army, no back up- just one on one."

"Why is that?" She asked, her small hand carefully slinking down to grasp his demonic palm. She tactfully slid her fingers in between his, taking extra care not to brush up against his sharp nails. He looked down to their entwined hands and let a small grin creep up to his lips.

"I always imagined killing him myself. No help, no one to have to give partial credit to. I want his head for my own keeping. I don't want to share the glory." Kayn frowned "Now, by force, I have to share it with Rhaast." He couldn't help to let a short laugh out. "So to answer your question, I'm ok. I know I can kill him, I just wish it was an entirely different scenario."

Petra nodded again, taking in his word syllable by syllable. "Are you nervous?" She whispered, this question even lower than the first.

Kayn didn't reply, he didn't look at her. She took that as her answer.

They had walked all night, their journey seeping into the daylight. Everyone was exhausted but no one had the courage to ask Kayn to stop. Although it was clear he too was tired, they kept following him. The hot sun beamed down on them, there wasn't many trees along the coast line. Petra made sure to check on Kayn as the sun grew higher and higher. Sweat beaded at his temple and slid down his face, dripping off of his chin onto his chest. Tiny things like sweat reminded her that he was real, the tiniest details drew her back into reality.

"Kayn!" Katarina called out around noon when the sun reached it's peek. He finally stopped walked and turned on his heel to face her. "There's a boat, it's heading towards the Noxian dock."

Kayn looked out into the water at the boat that sailed miles out. "You want to travel back into Noxus?" Kayn growled.

"We can't keep walking like this. It's at least another two days to Zaun." She insisted "At this rate Morgana may already be dead and we'll arrive exhausted." She put her hands at her hips. Soraka stood silently beside her, nodding in agreement.

Kayn looked to Petra then back to Katarina. "I was lucky to escape Noxus the first time around. Do you _really_ think it's a good idea to travel back into Noxus in the day time?"

"I know everyone in Noxus." Katarina argued "They won't dare harm my guest."

Kayn laughed "I have a _bounty_ on my head, sweetheart. I think if the price is right they'll kill you just to get to me."

Katarina didn't say anything.

"She's right though, Kayn." Petra finally chimed in. "We can't arrive to Zaun totally exhausted. That's a recipe for failure."

"And so is going back into Noxus. So which will it be?" Kayn was becoming angry "Do we take an early defeat and never make it to Zaun? Or do we hope that we have enough strength to fight when we get there?"

"Well what if you get caught out on Noxus?" Soraka finally spoke. "They're going to take you straight to Zaun anyway."

Everyone stopped talking, their attention drawing into Soraka's words.

"Why don't we blatantly arrive to Noxus and have them take us straight to Zaun?"

"There will be no element of surprise then. Zed will have surely been alerted that his prodigy had been defeated and captured." Kayn didn't say no, only reasoned.

"But that _is_ the surprise. Lets assume he knows that you _were_ hurting and weak as of yesterday. He'll think that you were too weak to even defend yourself. We may arrive to him and there will have been no preparation." Petra brainstormed, her eyes lighting up at the seemingly glorious idea.

"But what about you girls?" He asked "He doesn't want you. I don't know what he'd do you you." Kayn cocked his head, he was sure they would have no solution for this. But to his amazement Petra replied.

"We'll split up in Noxus if you get spotted. We'll take a separate route there and meet up in Zaun." The unofficial plan was sewing itself together.

Kayn pondered on it for a minute, letting all the possibilities sink in. All of the ways it could go horribly wrong. Then, finally, he spoke. "They're going to take me straight to The Order." He began "They'll take me straight to Zed. They'll probably take the scythe from me." He continued, his voice very stern and serious. "That will give us 24 hours to complete the mission and get the scythe back to me, other wise I'll die and there will be no winning for sure."

"What if we take the scythe?" Soraka asked.

"No. You can't. I still don't know what it's effects will be on anyone else. All I know is that Rhaast is bound to me, and that as long as the scythe is close by I'm confidant for that time I'll be ok."

"So we're doing it?" Katarina spoke, taking his comment as confirmation.

"It's most likely a very risky idea." Kayn replied "But it's the only way I can assure you get there safely." He glanced at Petra.

"What if we loose?" Petra asked "What if we can't get your scythe back and you die?"

"What if?" He, too, asked. "We have to hope that isn't the case."


	31. Chapter 31

They entered Noxus separately, the girls heading in first to scope things out and find a boat; Then Kayn, alone. The girls would stand by, watching Kayn, waiting for his planned capture. As soon as that occurred they would board the boat and get to Zaun. It was the plan, one that made everyone nervous- but it's all they had to work with.

Kayn stepped down on the cobblestone street. The sun was beating down, but the ocean still lent a subtle breeze. The harbor was busy, packed full of merchants and travelers. He did his best to get a look at everyone's face, he wanted to try as hard as he could to see his "captors" coming. If he were going to go down, willingly- which would remain unknown to them, he at least wanted to avoid as much pain as possible. He knew that whom ever took him would not be kind, and he knew he would not be stepping into Zaun unscathed. Kayn just hoped that at the end of this he'd be alive and able to fight Zed with no hindrances.

After a few minutes of walking the streets Kayn caught eyes with Petra. She signaled that they had found a boat and were standing by, and before he lost sight of her she made a gesture with her hands. _Uncover the scythe_ she pantomimed, her hands lifting the invisible hood that wasn't on her head.

With a deep breath, knowing that this would bring intimidate attention to him, Kayn pulled the hood from his back and dropped it to the ground.

 _One minute... Two minutes... Three minutes-_

Kayn felt a hand grab his shoulder and he jerked back. _So much for seeing it coming..._ He fell to the street, his human palm scuffing from the stone. He looked up to see two cloaked men standing before him. They stepped on his hand, holding him down. Kayn grunted in pain, his demonic arm being lifted above his head by a firm grasp.

"The fuck is this?" The man holding his arm asked. "That demon's ruining you, ain't he?" They both laughed.

 _Act weak._ Kayn thought to himself, _don't let them know what you're capable of._

"This is going to be way easier than the guys warned." The one stepping on his hand snorted, digging his heel into his flesh.

"Fuck," Kayn growled, trying to rip away.

"Ahhhhh, thats enough outta you." The one holding his arm said, then landed a swift punch to Kayn's face. Blood flooded into his mouth, dripping from his lips. He looked to the ground, spitting at the man who still stood on his hand's shoe.

"Hey!" Prick." He yelled, pulling away. Kayn lunged at his legs, ripping his arm from the other man. He wasn't trying to take anyone down, only make his struggle seem believable.

"Alright, alright." The one who had his arm said. "Enough of this, it's pathetic." He grabbed a fist full of Kayn's hair and dragged him to his feet. Blood ran down his chin, bubbling and dripping to the ground. "I'm sure you know what we're here for." He smiled.

"Fuck you." Kayn spit at him, and the man pulled away yanking Kayn's head forward. He yelled out in pain.

"You don't look so good, Shieda Kayn." He laughed "That witch we got didn't do much for you, huh?" They both burst into laughter.

Kayn growled, his face showing traces of pain. The man pulled him forward again, grasping his hands and pulling them forward. He took out a thick rope and tied it tightly around Kayn's wrists, taking tedious measures to ensure Kayn wouldn't break free. Kayn showed small amounts of rebellion, still keeping up with the facade. He wondered if they expected it to be this easy. Did Zed really only send two men? Did he expect so little from Kayn that he sent two _stupid_ human men?

"Alright, lets get a move on. Zed's gonna want him back for the witches execution." They laughed, yanking at Kayn's wrist's to get him walking.

 _Execution..._ He thought to himself. Zed isn't even prepared for a fight. He _actually_ thinks that Kayn will be captured and there will be no trouble. This was perfect, no one had any idea that Kayn and Rhaast were one now. He would have to continue to work at looking weak and powerless. He needed to keep up the act.

It was hard for Petra to watch Kayn get beat up out in the open like that. It took some will power to hold herself back, and eventually she just needed to look away. Katarina and Soraka corralled her into the loading port and as they entered the boat she glanced over her shoulder one last time, hoping to meet Kayn's eyes as they parted. But he was gone, lost in the crowd. She could only hope and trust that he was alright. That they would all be alright.

Rhaast looked on from Kayn's eyes, studying their captors. Like Kayn, he too was surprised that Zed only had only sent two of them. It seemed out of character for the power hungry leader of the Zaun Assassins who wanted nothing more than to kill his own first hand prodigy. It was until they boarded the small brig that both Kayn and Rhaast realized they were severely out numbered.

 _Looks like we're laying low._ Rhaast spoke inside of Kayn's mind. Kayn nodded in agreement, keeping his bloodied face to the floor to avoid unwanted beatings from the men who would surely feel attacked by something as simple as direct eye contact.

There was at most 20 of them, many who ere defiantly assassins. Their masks hid their identities, and so there was no one for Kayn to recognize. Not that knowing any of these animals would help, he knew there would be no helping him. Kayn knew damn well this would be the worst boat trip of his life and all he could do was hope that their backwards plan worked out in the end.


	32. Chapter 32

Kayn was tied up to the bottom of the mast. The rope was knotted taut around his ankles, waist, chest, arms, and neck. They made sure there was no room for him to try anything slick, and no way for him to wiggle free. He was strung up real good, and it was going to be a long trip.

He looked on quietly as the men on the boat bantered back and forth about hos successful their capture of the demon man was. They bragged to their peers about how they came out of their "brawl" alive and unscathed, as if Kayn had actually tried to fight back. As they boasted and yammered on about the _amazing_ job they did and how _easy_ it was for them to capture Master Zed's shining star of a pupil.

Kayn laughed.

"Is something funny to you, kid?" One of them men approached him, digging the tip of a dagger into Kayn's cheek.

Kayn couldn't help but snicker again.

"You think it's so funny?" He pushed the dagger harder against Kayn's flesh and dragged down towards his jaw, a long thin cut appearing. "If I could fucking kill you right now I would." He spit at Kayn's chest and laughed.

"You act so big and strong," Kayn began, still doing his best to act weak and feeble. He coughed, then hung his head down before continuing. "But what are you actually capable of? You've done nothing impressive but spit on me."

"You've got some nerve, kid." The man got very close to Kayn's face. The crew had gathered around and watched on in silence. "You're damn lucky I can't kill you." He repeated himself "Because I'd have jammed this dagger straight down your damn throat." He growled.

"What? Is Zed holding you back?" Kayn laughed, his head still hung low in effort to continue to appear weak.

 _What are you doing, Human?_ Rhaast spoke from inside his mind. Kayn began to laugh, throwing his head back to the mast. "I know what I'm doing, demon." He said allowed.

"He's talking to the damn scythe!" Another man in the crowed called out. "He's a fucking loon!"

"Why don't you just _kill me_?" Kayn egged the man with the dagger on "Who cares about Zed?"

It was obvious he was pondering the idea. He twirled the dagger around between his finger tips, his eyes darting back and forth between the crew, Kayn, and the scythe. The man lunged forward and pressed the dagger's point to Kayn's chest.

"I'd fucking love to, I really would." He hissed "And maybe I will, yet. But for now, you're lucky." He pushed the dagger in until Kayn winced from the puncture it had made.

"Pathetic." Kayn breathed "So then what are you going to do? Let me stay here the whole ride? That's not very big of you, is it?"

 _Fool!_ Rhaast boomed _Are you trying to get us killed?_

"Shut up, Demon!" Kayn yelled, his eyes widening as the man who stood before him looked on, confused as to who Kayn was actually talking to.

"You're nuts." He laughed "I don't even know why Zed wants to kill you himself. You're pathetic, and this scythe is ruining you." The man placed a finger slowly to the scythe's blade, prepared to recoil at the slightest anomaly. But, to both his surprise and Kayn's, nothing happened.

"The fuck?" Another man from the crowd stepped forward. "I head this thing was supposed to sear flesh!" He pulled at the scythes blade.

"I thought so too." The man with the dagger pulled at the scythe, loosening it from between the mast and Kayn's back. "Was that a lie, Shieda Kayn?" He laughed along with his friends who all began to swarm around the demon weapon.

"He must've made that shit lie up so no one else would take the scythe." Another spoke.

Kayn watched on, shocked and speechless at what was unfolding before him. As the scythe was pulled away from him, the first time in a very long time, Kayn noticed that there was a dark aura that had formed around the weapon.

"Rhaast?" Kayn spoke allowed, wondering if he too saw it. Wondering if he was even still with him.

 _I see it, human. The witch really did bind us._ Rhaast was shocked himself as he too looked on to see the others passing the scythe off one by one like it was a piece of candy. It had no adverse effects on any of them, and for the time being Kayn felt normal.

"Do you feel any different?" Kayn whispered.

 _No, but I feel drawn to the scythe. Like I could go to it._ Rhaast said, and as he spoke the dark aura around the scythe imploded and Kayn felt the demon leave his body. With in only a moment the man who held the scythe'd eyes began to glow red and blood began to drip from his nose. His friends began to back away slowly, the crowd of men going silent as they watched their friend's body begin to shift from human to that of a demonic figure.

"Son of a bitch." Kayn said to himself "The bastard can jump to the scythe." He silently looked on and watched the possession unfold. He noticed that the scythe's aura had come back, but this time it was red and reminiscent of Rhaast himself. It consumed the weapon as well as the man who was obviously buckling under it's power. He looked on as the crew of man started to become concerned and anxious. They were trying to coaxed the scythe wielder into dropping it.

"Drop it? I feel _amazing_." The man yelled, blood dripping from his eyes and ears now. His skin had gone white and he glowed red with Rhaast's power. Then suddenly, like a switch had been flipped, the man lunged forward at his crew. He sliced straight through three men's torsos and in that same swing cut straight through the floor board. The possessed man yanked the scythe out from the wood and raised it high above his head, lunging the opposite way cutting into two more of his friends.

Everyone was in panic mode now, some pulling out guns and shooting at him. The bullets passed straight through his body but he did not falter. Instead, he slammed the scythe into anyone that opposed him. With in only a few minutes the group of 20 men had fizzled down to maybe 10, all of which had stepped very far away from their possessed friend.

"This is new," Rhaast's deep voice boomed from inside the human. He approached Kayn, who was wildly amused with what had just unfolded. "Did you know we could do this?" Rhaast laughed, his voice bellowing from the human's throat.

"I did not." Kayn replied. His body had reverted back to it's normal human form, almost as if Rhaast had never entered him. "Now cut me down from this blasted thing."

The demon possessed man approached Kayn and sliced down the sides of the rope, freeing his human ally. Kayn stretched his body, his neck and spin cracking freely. He waltzed over to a corpse of a man who had been wielding two machetes and picked them up, tossing them above his head and catching them before they hit the ground.

"Alright, who's next?"


	33. Chapter 33

Kayn and Rhaast stood side by side for the first time. The human vessel Rhaast had entered through the scythe was feeble and weak and Rhaast felt him deteriorating quickly. Blood had begun to drip from all of his orifices and it was only a matter of time before he'd collapse and die from the blood loss. But until then Rhaast backed Kayn up as they approached what was left of the boat crew. They were all huddled by the front of the boat, each holding up some sort of weapon. Those with guns had exhausted all their ammo as they fired at their possessed friend All that was left was daggers, swords, and machetes. None of which could fool Kayn or beat him, he had mastered them all and it was going to be tough to beat him.

Kayn took the two machetes firmly in his hands and dashed forward at the man who had stepped on his hand earlier. He swung his weapons wide and landed directly in his chest, ripping the two blade straight out. He charged at the next man, a machete slicing down the man's arm causing a blood curdling scream to echo off the empty sea. Another decided to try and fight back, he leaped towards Kayn with a dagger in his hand, the blade landing in what would have been Kayn's shoulder.

Then, something happened. As the dagger pierced Kayn's flesh he grunted and yelled out in pain. He retorted by throwing a machete into the mans chest but as all this happened Rhaast too had yelled out. The human he had possessed had also seemed to have taken the dagger's blade, even though he had not been stabbed. As Kayn glanced back at Rhaast he was blind sided, another blade pricing his back. Heb hollered out, watching ad Rhaast's vessel buckled under the pain.

Kayn dropped down to his knees, the machetes falling to his sides. His reached up to his back and pulled out the dagger, blood immediately flowing down his back. He took a deep breath in, weezing beneath the blade's puncture.

"Rhaast. Come back to me." He called out, realizing the possessed man was buckling much fast than Kayn was.

Rhaast mustered up what was left of the human and leaped above Kayn at the man who had stabbed him, the scythe swinging down hard on to the boat's deck. The man faltered backwards and Rhaast took it as an opportunity to hop back into Kayn. They both inhaled deeply, the demonic portion of Rhaast taking back the bits of Kayn he had claimed.

Kayn rose to his feet, taking his scythe back. His bloodied hands wrapping tightly around it's neck. Rhaast was brimming with power from inside him, as if their reunion had buffed them both. They were truly better together, and it was at that moment that they realized it as fact.

 _Kill them all..._ Rhaast growled.

In the blink of an eye Kayn had darted forward, leaping inside of one of the men. It was a technique he hadn't used often as he hadn't fully mastered it when training with Zed. But at this moment, he felt he could prevail. To his surprise the scythe flew above the man's body, Rhaast keeping it suspended in the air. Then, all at once, Kayn leaped from the man and the scythe came flying back down cutting the human's flesh straight to the floor boards.

Kayn caught the weapon and lunged forward again, drenched in the other's blood. He swung the scythe and sent two other men flying backwards. At this point there was only a few of Zed's minions left alive and Kayn felt fulfilled by their slaughter. Their blood felt good against his skin and it tasted even better. He couldn't help but lick his lips as their skin split and blood splattered across the boat.

After only six hours of being captured Kayn and Rhaast had successfully killed all twenty of Zed's men leaving only himself and corpses scattered across the bloodied boat. He looked at the massacre, pleased with the power he and the demon had when combined.

"We did it." Kayn spoke aloud. "Twenty sad excuses for assassins versus one demon bound man." He laughed, swinging the scythe over his shoulder back into it's straps.

 _We can't become separated from the scythe, Kayn._ Rhaast spoke. _Though we can function without one another, the damage you take also effects me._

Kayn nodded, his lips pursed as he thought for a moment. "It must be some sort of loop hole the witch instilled when she bound us."

 _Being able to travel from you to the scythe is as much of a gift as it is a curse._ Rhaast's voice grumbled from inside Kayn.

"Well we must be tactful in staying together, and if we become separated from the scythe we should use your ability to go to it as a last resort." Kayn began dragging bodies and tossing them off the boat. he watched as they sunk deep into the dark water.

 _A last resort?_ The demon questioned.

"If we're to become separated you must do everything in your power to bring the scythe back into my hands." Kayn was now shoveling entrails off the boat's floor over the side as well. He did he best the get the boat clean so to not draw unwanted attention from other boats that would eventually pass.

 _I see... So I'll leave behind a trial of possessed corpses in my wake to get back to you. How utterly... hopeless._ Rhaast boomed with laughter from inside of Kayn. It seemed he found it far funnier than Kayn himself did.

"We're bound together now, Rhaast. You should be eager to come back to me. That's how we will survive. It's how we will prevail." Kayn unloaded the last body and then took a look at himself. He was covered in blood, and though it brought him a small amount of joy he knew he needed to wash himself clean. He leaned over the side of the boat, a hand stretching out into the salty water. He caught a glimpse of himself before he sent his reflection rippling away in the waves.

This would be it. This is all he had left of himself, and if he could not defeat Zed it may be the last moment of solace he would have in his life. Fighting Zed was all he had left to do, it was all he felt he needed to accomplish. After that, even if he were to win, he'd having nothing. Petra, maybe. But is that what he was destined for? A life spent with a women? He cringed at the thought of commitment and a life of boring mundane things. Kayn was, after all, a man possessed and bound to a demon for all eternity...


	34. Chapter 34

Zed sat comfortably, sprawled out upon a luxurious red lounge. His eyes traced the outline of the large window that over looked the ice laced city of Zaun. Just over the Ironspike mountains was like a whole other planet, where it was so cold and desolate that snow fell at least once a week. It reflected Zed's heart like a true mirror.

It was almost night fall, and by this time tomorrow Kayn would be in his grasp once more. This time, he wouldn't be leaving.

The temple of The Order Of The Shadows was large and ornate. It sat at Zaun's highest point, looking over the cities sky line. It was Zaun's center piece, it's beautiful red and silver star in the center of a generally bad city. The peasants and criminals also lived above ground, and it was The Order Of The Shadow that kept them in line. Down below, deep into the ground of Zaun lived the rich and wealthy. Those of the most wealth living in connection to Piltover. The city had it's ranks, and though The Order Of The Shadows resigned at it's lowest rank, they were of the highest respect. Not because they earned it, but because they stuck fear so deeply into all of those around them. Respect was the only nice way to represent their fear.

Zed had planned the whole night around the execution of Kayn. He had sold it as a witch hunt, kidnapping demons and witches from all across Runeterra and bringing them to The Order where he held them captive. Zed promised his men a blood bath, telling them that the death of all the witches and demons would grant them powers far beyond their present abilities. He promised them that they would be stronger than any other warriors that walked Runeterra. He coaxed them into believing this story so that he could also convince them that killing Kayn would be the key that would seal the ritual. That killing off all of these magical beings, and finishing it off with the blood of the Darkin man would grant them eternal power.

It was all one big lie...

Zed scoffed, thinking about strangling Kayn until he took his last breath. Snapping the demon scythe in half and throwing it to the bottom of the ocean. He imagined killing off his son-like prodigy. Killing him with his bare hands for his act of treason... his courage for having the audacity to defy The Order, the nerve of having the gall to admit his attempt to surpass Zed himself.

All of it was one big act of treason. One big stab in the orders back, in Zed's back. At least, this is what Zed saw in the cloud of delusion that was his slowly rotting mind.

The boat docked in Zaun around 6:00pm. The church bells rang throughout the empty snow covered streets, echoing off the large architecture and stone roads. As Petra and the girls left the safety of the boat she realized something wasn't quite right. Zaun was a busy city, bustling at all times of day. But now at only 6:00 in the evening? The city's upper level was a total ghost town and it sent a wave of fear over Petra. Once the bells stopped their agonizing chimes of horror the air was completely empty. Not a sound to be heard save for their steps that crunched the snow underfoot.

"What's going on?" Katarina asked, her hands shuffling along her arms to keep warm.

"I don't know." Petra spoke. "But I bet it has something to do with that." She pointed to the long line of pedestrians that we're marching up to the temple that sat at the highest point of Zaun. The city had flushed to The Order Of The Shadows. Petra knew nothing good could possibly come from it. "Let's go. We don't have time to waste. " She began to run at a steady trot, making her ascent into what could only be Zeds plan to destroy Kayn.


	35. Chapter 35

When the boat reached Zaun Kayn was overcome with a wave of nostalgia. He had not been back to Zaun since he was exiled all those years ago, and truthfully he had not planned on ever returning. The place was damned to hell and everyone in it was a hopeless cause.

As he stepped down onto the snow covered pavement he realized something was not right. He glanced up at the sun, which was about to set. He surveyed the streets and concluded that something was happening- hundreds of people couldn't have just disappeared. They all had to have gone somewhere and Kayn had a good idea where... Kayn turned his attention to the temple that was perched upon Zaun's highest point. He cringed as his eyes traced it's peaks, all of the memories flooding into his skull like a broken dam.

 _We could leave now..._ Rhaast spoke. _Leave them girl, leave Zed._

"No, we can't." Kayn replied, taking the first step that lead to the temple.

 _You're just going to waltz in? Through the front?_

"Zed is expecting me to arrive weak in the custody of his soldiers. He won't expect me to enter alone." Kayn picked up his pace as he scaled the mountain.

 _What are we going to do with the girl?_ Rhaast questioned. _This will be your last big fight, after that you'll have no meaning. Will the girl be your meaning?_

Kayn furrowed his brow, his hands reaching up to his back to pull the scythe out. He grasped it firmly, his knuckles turning white under the tension. "No. She won't."

Petra and the girls had entered the temple to find hundreds of civilians gathered around a decent sized pond that sat at the center of the courtyard. A stage had been set above the water, hovering over it's black ripples. On that stage were several girls, all blindfolded with hands bound behind their backs. And behind them stood Zed, Petra recognized his mask.

For the number of people there it was awfully quiet. The crowd's eyes were fixated upon Zed, almost as if he were their leader. No one uttered a single word, and the silence sent a shiver down Petra's spine.

"Lets split up, Kayn might already be here." Petra spoke. She was terrified and hoped that he was in fact already here. "Just stay out of sight."

Soraka headed off towards the left wall and Katarina marched to the right. For Petra, that left one one way: Straight down the middle. She inhaled deeply, holding her breathe until it stung her lungs, then exhaled softly. She navigated her way between the crowd doing her best to avoid eye contact. She searched for Kayn, wishing his face would appear hidden among the sea of strangers. She did her best to stay away from the water, knowing that she'd be putting herself right in front of the enemy. But as she searched she realized that if Kayn were here it was probably close to Zed.

With another sharp inhale Petra stepped into the front row and turned to face the crowd as she quickly glanced at their faces. As she studied them all briefly, she came across a familiar face and immediately knew she had made a grave mistake. Her eyes met with the man from the swamp, the one that came to the bar to fight Kayn. Quickly she redirected her gaze hoping he hadn't seen her, but at the rate of which he darted in her direction she knew he had seen her.

"You." She watched him mouth. Her eyes struck open and she began to back away, bumping into people from the crowd. She noticed his hands were no longer broken, he must have been healed. That would mean there was a healer present, which meant their battle may not go quite as planned.

Petra turned and began to weave through the crowd, her eyes glancing over her shoulder at Talon who was catching up quickly. As a last ditch effort Petra sprung a crystal up from the ground to abstract his path, but to her demise she was caught the moment her gave set forward again. She bummed into another assassin who was dressed in yellow, a mask covering his face much like Zed's. He grasped her tightly, a long katana wrapping around her chest and pressing up against her neck. She froze in his grasp as she realized she had failed before it even began.

The man in yellow escorted Petra to the stage, straight to Zed who was perched comfortable upon a throne like chair. The katana's blade had sliced ever so lightly into her throat and blood dripped down her neck and in between her breasts. She was presented to Zed by removing the blade from her neck and moving it to her back, the fine point stabbing at her spine.

"You're the love interest, arent you?" Zed spoke from behind his mask. Petra glanced up to his glowing red eyes that illuminated from under the metal. She didn't reply, only glared up at him in silence.

"You best speak, girl." He growled, a gloved finger pressing against her chest. He dragged his finger tip along the curves of her breasts, smearing her blood across her skin. "My men caught you once already. Will twice be the winning ticket?" His voice curled around the words and ended in the most evil laugh she had ever heard.

"Damn you." She spat, a single tear forming and sliding down her cheek. Zed leaned in close to her and lifted his mask high enough that only his mouth was visible. She watched as a smirk stretched ear to ear before his tongue slid out from between his lips and pressed up against her cheek. He licked her tear away then pulled his mask back down before another menacing laugh bellowed from beneath the metal. Petra cringed, pulling away from him and into the point at her back. She leaped forward in pain, falling to the wood stage when she realized she had no where else to go.

"Why don't I have you join our other sacrifices tonight, hm?" He crouched down next to Petra, a hand grasping at her scalp. "You were supposed to be here, anyway."

Zed lifted Petra and dragged her over to the line of girls who were blind folded. He pushed her down next to the witch that bound Kayn and Rhaast and noticed a sigil painted on her forehead. This was all too reminiscent of her kidnapping, and almost as soon as the blind fold whipped around her face to cover her eyes the tears began to pour from her uncontrollably. "Kayn..." She whispered, doing her best not to cry audibly.

Truthfully, Petra felt this was the end.


	36. Chapter 36

The hike up to the temple was a grueling one. Not for physical reasons, but for mental ones. Kayn began to dread this quest more and more with every step he took. All of the possibilities haunted him, and so did all the outcomes. As he drew nearer and nearer he almost chose to just turn around and leave the Norther part of Runeterra. Head back to Bilgewater or even the Sharima Desert. But still Kayn dragged forward, closer and closer to the temple doors.

Finally he stood in front of the large golden gates, his finger tips running along their large handles. What awaited inside was surely a blood bath in the making, and the only thing separating him from the death and chaos was a simple push of a lever.

Kayn opened the door.

As he entered the Order Of The Shadow's base he quickly realized this was a production held by Zed, not a fight. It was clear that Zed was assuming there would be no struggle, as the courtyard was full of unsuspecting Zaun citizens. If her were expecting a brawl, he's have been much better prepared. Though he's a monster, he did try to spare unrelated casualties. _Assassins are tidy, accidentally murders are not tidy._ He used to tell Kayn when he'd run off the map. So he stayed back, his back pressed up against the wall. Kayn monitored the crowd before his attention turned towards a stage that had been set up over the center of the old Koi pond.

As a child Kayn found a release from the pressure to be an assassin by sitting at the water and feeding the fish. It was something he did in the private hours of the night, and he always did his best to remain out of sight so to avoid embarrassing back lash from his peers. He had fond feelings for the pond, and it was surely the only thing he felt comfort in seeing again. Until he noticed Petra on her knees, hands bound and eyes covered...

"Shit." He breathed quietly, cursing the girl for already failing the plan.

 _Stupid girl..._ Rhaast chimed in.

Kayn pulled his scythe out once more as he realized he'd have to fight if he wanted to save Petra. He knew it was going to be a mess, and he knew the second he was spotted he'd be largely out numbered. So, he did what any sane man would _not_ have done. Kayn walked straight down the middle of the crowd, a beeline straight for the pond.

Whispers among the viewers began to echo throughout the large court yard and it was only a matter of seconds before the crowd parted leaving Kayn in plain sight.

"Zed," He called out as he grasped the scythe tightly in his hands.

Zed's head whipped around from his captives to Kayn, his eyes burning red. "Well, well, well..." he began "I should have known a _sick_ and _weak_ Sheida Kayn was too good to be true." Zed's tone was deep and serious. "I'll assume you killed all my men?"

"Every last one of them." Kayn replied, the scythe held up in a battle ready stance.

Zed cocked his head as he walked about the stage. "Think you can do it again?" As the words left Zed's mouth three men leaped from the crowd, lunging at Kayn. One threw their arm around his neck, dragging him back and to the ground. The other two held long swords, prepared to stab at him.

"Don't kill him," Zed called out "That's _my_ job..."

Kayn regained his composure and lifted the scythe above his head, flinging the large blade into the man that dragged him down's skull. Blood splattered over Kayn's face and chest and when he yanked the scythe out from the dead man's head more blood spilled out over his face, painting him red. Kayn leaped from the ground, the scythe held tightly under white knuckles and sharp nails.

"You _have_ to fight what that damned scythe, don't you?" Zed's voice rang out. Kayn's skin crawled at his tone and he chose to ignore him.

Kayn raised the scythe high above his head again and lunged forward at the other two men. The blade slammed down into the ground, knocking the men back, First he swung right, knocking one man off into the crowd of bystanders. Then Kayn swung back around and left, narrowly missing the other man who then jabbed at Kayn's waist, puncting his flesh from the front. The blade of the sword was ripped away from Zed's soldier as Kayn pulled back and leaned into the scythe again, this time slicing the man from his left shoulder to his right hip. His mangled body fell to the ground, splashing Kayn again with blood.

"Are you going to have me kill all your goons before I kill you?" Kayn was angry now, his voice loud and powerful. He stepped forward, closer to the pond now. The sword still stuck from his waist, and as an act of power he ripped it from his own flesh and tossed it high into the air so it w came crashing down at Zeds feet, impaling the wood stage. Blood gushed from his wound, but he ignored it. Adrenaline pulsated so rapidly through his veins he didn't even feel it.

"I'll fight you when you decide to put that silly demon scythe down." Zed laughed, pulling the sword from the stage and tossing it over into the water.

"I'll put the scythe down when you remove your mask, coward." Kay spat, knowing well and good that Zed would _never_ remove his mask. All the years Kayn spent under Zed's hand he never once saw his master's face. He assumed no one ever had, and he knew today wouldn't be the day he'd show his face.

Zed scoffed at his comment and began to make his way off of the stage and around the pond. Kayn took on a defensive stance, grasping the scythe more tightly than he ever had before. He watched Zed's every move as he sauntered over, the crowd pushing far away from the two. When Zed was only a few feet from Kayn he stopped walking. Kayn remained tense, ready to fight at the drop of a hat.

"You want me to remove my mask, Sheida Kayn?" Zed hissed, his red eyes glowing brightly from under the metal mask.

"Just like you want me to drop the scythe." Kayn growled, his body unmoving as his eyes followed Zed who began to walk in a circle around him. He watched the master assassin circle him like a shark and that made Kayn even more tense. When Zed came back around he stepped forward towards Kayn and leaned in close to his face. Kayn froze, his mind racing as he realized he could drive the scythe through Zed's chest right at that moment and be done with it. But then somthing unexpected happened...

Zed's hand slowly climbed up to his mask and with one swift movement the metal left his face and fell to the ground with a loud _clank_. The crowd gazed on in awe, his soldiers all rushing as close as the could to get a peek at their leader's face. Kayn's brow furroed as his eyes traced Zed's features. He had white hair, and his skin was smooth and young. Who was this man? He should have been nearing 50 but seemed no more than 30.

"Drop the scythe, Kayn." Zed growled, an evil grin sweeping across his face. "Let's settle this, right here- right now..."


	37. Chapter 37

At the age of 15 Kayn went on a mission with Zed. It was the first time he had went out with _only_ Zed, and he could recall the day so vividly that it was almost as if it had happened yesterday. Zed was hired by some Piltover cop to assassinate her husband. He was mentally ill and physically abusing her, and she couldn't turn him in because it would have made her look bad- but she also could't kill him herself because she was next in line for Sheriff. As a last resort the met with Zed himself and arranged the hit.

Kayn remembered Zed talking about the job like it was as simple as sweeping the floor. He spoke in such a nonchalant way that it almost made young Kayn uncomfortable. He remembered getting the urge to question Zed about the morality of the job, was this man _really_ guilty of abuse? Or was this cop a gold digger looking for some easy cash? His mind kept circling back around to what Zed had told him during the first year of Kayn's training: _Assassins are tidy, accidental murders are not tidy._ What if this were an accidental murder?

The night came when Zed and young Kayn made their way quietly into Piltover to the Cop's large and spacious home. Zed had been instructed to stage a break in and then to quietly, and quickly, finish the job. The whole trip there Zed seemed off, not like his normal and powerful self. Kayn wanted to question him, but he didn't.

They broke into the home at exactly midnight to find the house nearly empty save for a wildly barking dog and an elderly man tucked away in a quiet corner of a large living room. As Zed approached him with Kayn in tail it became painfully obvious to see that this man was indeed ill, but not mentally- and was certainly not in an condition to even be getting out of the gurney let alone abusing anyone. He remembered looking at Zed who went from stiff and on guard to just plain confused. Again, Kayn wanted to question Zed, but he didn't.

He remembered Zed backing away from the sick elderly man and watched in admiration as he began to leave without completing the job. Kayn remembered feeling whole as Zed's lesson of the tidy assassin began to actually prove itself- that was, until the cop arrived with a gun pointed and cocked at the two.

"Finish the job, scum. Or I'll turn you in right now." The cop growled, the gun pointing directly at the back of Zed's head.

"This is a breech of contract, pig." Zed hissed, his hands raised in the air as a sign of peace.

"I don't care what it is, you said you'd kill the bastard. Now do it!" She waved the gun around a bit as she spoke before again holding it to the back of Zed's head.

Kayn remembered watching on in silence, pressed up against the shadows as he gazed upon the scene in uncertainty. He watched as Zed extended two blades from his sleeve and walked over to the sickly man who was so drugged up he was hardly even coherent. He watched as Zed scowled at the Cop before raising his arm and plunging the blades into the mans chest with one swift movement.

All at once the Cop screamed out, the sound forever ringing inside Kayn's mind. She fired a couple shots above the gurney, then one at the door. She screamed again, this time calling out for help.

"Get the fuck out of my house before I arrest you, _Master Zed._ " She scoffed, reaching into her uniform, pulling out an envelope. She tossed it to Zed before taking out her mobile phone and dialing the emergency line.

"Lets go, Sheida Kayn." He growled, leaving the scene and fleeing into the night.

It was all so vivid, and as Kayn now stood before the unmasked Zed he realized he was nothing more than a sham. An easily influenced assassin who happened to be powerful enough to coax men and woman to fight for him. He remembered the job as a sign of Zed's weakness, and right now that reminder was enough to fuel Kayn's fire.

"What will it be, Kayn?" Zed was grinning, his blade extending from his sleeves just like they did that night so many years ago.

Kayn laughed, his tone mocking and belittling. " _Sure..._ " Kayn started "I'll play by your rules."

 _What are you doing, fool?_ Rhaast boomed from inside of Kayn's mind, as usual. _If we loose that damned scythe we're dead._

"Silence, Demon." Kayn said out loud.

"Talking to yourself, Hm?" Zed laughed "You've lost your mind, what an awful shame."

"You could say that..." Kayn snorted, if only they knew.

"Now are you going to fight me _man to man_? Or do I need to teach your demon friend a lesson, too?" Zed sharpened the blades on his arms against one another, the sound echoing out and above the silent crowd.

Kayn placed the scythe on ground and kicked it off to the side with the tip of his boot. The crowd jumped back as the weapon slid across the stone and stopped a few feet away. He rolled his neck, his eyes closing for one last time. He held his breath, listening to his own heart thumping inside of his chest.

"You've always been a coward, Zed." Kayn opened his eyes and stared directly into Zed's.

Zed boomed with laughter, his head tossing back. "I am not the man who can only fight with a demon aiding me!" He retorted, stepping a little closer to Kayn. "I know what you're capable of, Sheida Kayn. That is _not_ defeating me."

"I don't need Rhaast." Kayn said "I can beat you with or without him." A grin swept from ear to ear before Kayn spoke again. "Now are you going to give me a weapon to make this a fair fight? Or did you plan on killing me without any hassle?"


	38. Chapter 38

A katana...

Kayn grasped it's handle firmly in his hand. His eyes traveled down to his demonic limb and he chuckled to himself. _No one has noticed that you are obviously still within me_ ; Kayn thought to himself, noting that Rhaast was still knocking around inside of him. _Is this cheating?_ Kayn laughed out loud, grasping the katana tighter in his palms.

The air around them was frigid and cold, wind blowing in alarmingly fast gusts. Snow began to sprinkle from above and within only a minute it turned to ice cold rain. The crowd around them began to stagger back more and more, huddling together for warmth as they gazed upon Zed and Kayn.

The two began to walk in a circle, each never breaking eye contact with the other. It was the moment they had been waiting for yet neither could find a good place to start. Running through Kayn's mind was Petra who he still needed to rescue. And through Zed's? Well lets just say it was something along the lines of paining the courtyard crimson.

After minutes of the battle dace Zed finally lunged at Kayn. Two shadow blades whizzed back Kayn's head, dissipating behind his back into the icy rain. Kayn pulled the katana back and leaped into the air, spinning hid body in a wide circle and landing his foot into Zed's chest. Zed was knocked to the ground and Kayn whipped the katana's blade forward, aiming for Zed's neck. The assassin rolled quickly, only taking a minor cut against his shoulder.

Zed leaped to his feet and rushed forward, his blades coming together and spreading wide across Kayn's abdomen. Two cuts appeared, blood dripping down Kayn's cold skin. Kayn staggered for only a moment before dashing left and jabbing right, nailing Zed's arm. It was clear that both of these men were skilled fighters, as both were landing good hits.

Zed's men attempted to step in, but were quickly sent away with an awful scowl. Zed knew this was truly between just he and Kayn. Or, at least he thought so...

The crowd, though freezing, was locked into the brawl. Their eyes fixated on the two as they hacked and sliced each other up. Time seemed to move by slower than normal, and as the fight progressed it became painfully obvious that both men were extremely talented assassins. It was clear that they were truly on the same level, weather they wished to admit it or not. Now it was just a waiting game... Who would falter first?

Back and forth they went, jabbing and missing. After 20 minutes had passed they both began to tire, but both still refused to stop. Their breath staggered out into the cold air like pale clouds, their skin turning rosy pink as the icy rain began to sting their skin. When the rain turned into hail it was almost like adding another fighter into the mix. As the men leaped and charged at each other, they were also fighting the horrific bullet sized chunks of hail that were belting them so painfully that marks began to show on their skin.

"I'll do this all day, Sheida Kayn." Zed called out, his blades craftily whirling towards Kayn's face. Kayn slipped out of the way and dove forward with the katana. Zed dodged, and at the last second Kayn switched direction. All at once the frozen crowd leaped and gasped. Zed had been pierced, the katana's blade slide right into his rib cage and out the back.

Silence fell as the brawl stopped. Zed's hands traced the blade that stuck from his side and glared up at Kayn who stood in the hail huffing and heaving as he caught his breath. 

"It's over, Zed." Kayn exhaled "I beat you."  
 _Such a fool... He was no match for you._ Rhaast laughed from inside his confines.

Moments went by, they seemed like eternal seconds. Then Zed began to laugh... It started off low and gruff but transformed into a wicked and haunting call. The courtyard fell silent, even the hail ceased to fall. Kayn stared at Zed, he watched as Zed pulled the katana from his ribs and fell to one knee. The blade hit the ground and so did Zed's body.

Zed's men gathered around their master hesitantly and were again shooed away by the defeated assassin. Kayn knew it was over, it was the end. Though he wanted to kill Zed, he felt the painful humiliation would be enough to put him in his place.

"Petra," Kayn yelled from across the pond. The poor blindfolded girl's head perked up, her skin almost blue from the cold. He began to walk to her, the crowd still in complete silence. But then just as he neared the stage, a voice he recognized- Katarina, called out from the back of the crowd.

"KAYN!" She yelled "HE'S GOT THE SCYTHE!"


	39. Chapter 39

Kayn whipped his body around and looked to Zed who stood weakly now, the demon scythe in his arms. Kayn's eyes opened wide as he gazed upon Zed's hands tracing the neck of the weapon up to the blade.

"This is it?" Zed laughed "this has no effect on me. It looks like you're not the only man capable of wielding the Darkin weapon." Zed's eyes were wide and crazed. He looked like a horrific murderer. "Or have you been lying all these years? About the scythe and your possession of it?" Zed scoffed, stepping forward. One hand fell to his side and put pressure against his wound while the other held the scythe high. "Is that it, Kayn? Have you lied all this time about being _special_?" Zed taunted.

Kayn said nothing, only stared on as Zed held what he felt was his key to defeating Kayn. Zed had truly felt that having the scythe for himself was the answer to defeating and even killing Kayn. Kayn He knew Rhaast was still within him, and as that thought seeped into his mind he couldn't help but to laugh.

"Laughing? Are you nervous, Sheida Kayn?" Zed stepped forward again. He was making his way, still staggering and swaying as he walked to Kayn who stood by the stage.

"It seems you've out smarted me." Kayn frowned, crossing his arms against his chest. He watched as Zed stepped and stumbled with the heavy scythe in his hands. The wound on his ribs was bleeding badly, blood dripped down his body and as he moved forward a trail of blood followed him. He was in no condition to act as he was, but Kayn was amused and humored him.

"You're a fool, Kayn." Zed approached closely now, and just as they would have met he turned and ascended up the stage stairs with the scythe acting as a walking stick. "You shouldn't have come."

Kayn watched as Zed stpped up onto the wood stage and stood behind the row of girls who looked almost dead. They were cold, all shivering wildly from the freezing rain. Many of them were bloodied from the hail that came down so harshly during their fight. Kayn's eyes shifted from Zed to Petra, he watched as she tensed. She knew Zed was right behind her now, and he leaned close to her face placing the blade of the scythe around her neck.

Kayn was doing his best to stay calm, he didn't want to let Zed know he was in a panic right now. He watched as Zed grabbed her damp, iced over hair in his blood covered palm and lifted her head to face his. She was still blindfolded and belted out a horrific scream.

"Kayn!" She called out. Kayn's heart stopped for just a moment as he still looked on.

"She must really love you, Kayn." Zed weakly laughed. "I'll release you right now if you choose to join The Order Of The Shadows and abandon your loyalty to Sheida Kayn. Does that sound like a deal?" Zed was very close to her lips, and he leaned in a little close to place a bloodied kiss upon them,

"Fuck off!" Petra yelled, trying to pull away from his touch, spitting out into the open a mouth full of his blood.

"Ungrateful, just like Kayn." Zed stood back up and scoffed, walking further down the line of captives to a blue haired girl. The crowd seemed just as confused as Kayn was, and even more frightened. They were continuously backing away from the stage, but none of them could look away. Human nature is a terrible thing.

"Zed, put the scythe down." Kayn called out, knowing it truly didn't matter either way for the time being. Rhaast was still with him, he was still powerful; But he wanted Zed to _feel_ accomplished. He wanted Zed to be shocked when he _killed him_.

"Oh, are you worried you'll loose now, Sheida Kayn?" A silly looking frown pasted on Zed's face made it hard for Kayn to keep from laughing. "You laugh, but we both know who's won this fight." Zed lifted the blue haired girl up to her feet and took her hand. He placed it against his wound and took a deep breath. "Heal me now and I'll set you free." Zed growled.

 _He has a healer..._ Rhaast boomed. Kayn furrowed his brow, stepping forward a bit more. He watched closely as the wound glowed and dimmed, leaving only a dried blood trail in it's wake. Zed then stood up straight, stretching his arms and spine with his new found health.

"L-let me go now." The healer spoke softly.

Zed immediately laughed, swinging the scythe low to the stage and across the girl's throat. He grasped at her open wound, blood spilling all over her and the stage. The crowd's vibe shifted at the drop of a hat, they now cheered and clapped. They were monsters, just like Zed.

"You' can't heal yourself? What a shame." Zed boomed. He was a monster now, more than he was before. Kayn knew he had to be stopped, at this rate innocent casualties were obviously unimportant and it was only a matter of time before each of the captives would be executed in such a gruesome manner.

Kayn watched Soraka start for the stage, but Katarina pulled her back and they slinked to the back of the crowd again. It was reassuring to know he still had his healer, but in the same token was it worth sacrificing her life?

 _Since when have you cared?_ Rhaast retorted to Kayn's thoughts. _Save yourself, forget the girls._

"Enough." Kayn boomed, his voice deep and powerful. "You have the scythe now, fight me like I know you want to. Leave the girls alone." He was becoming angry and agitated, and he was prepared to put Zed in his place- batter yet, he was ready to _kill_ Zed.

"Does this bother you, Sheida Kayn?" Zed walked back off of the stage, a hand sweeping across Petra's shoulders. He stepped down off the steps and made his way back towards Kayn. "Are you _scared_?"

"I am not scared of you, you are nothing." Kayn had no weapon, and he knew if Zed were to swing he'd have to channel Rhaast in order to fight the blade.

Then, as if on queue, Zed lunged forward with the scythe in his grasps. He swung at Kayn quickly, and Kayn did his best to dodge the blow. He caught the tail end of the blade and was sent staggering back onto the ground.

 _Enough is a enough,_ Rhaast boomed. _Lets put him in his place._

As Rhaast spoke Kayn rose to his feet. His fingers traced the new cut on his chest that was now dripping blood. Zed was grinning wildly, but still did not seem to notice that the scythe had not changed him in anyway. He would in just a moment, though...

Kayn's body began to contort, the demon's horns appearing back atop his head. His skin turned red, his eyes glowed, and now both his hand had large talons for nails. Rhaast had took over, and the crowd had broke into hysteria.

"Impossible!" Zed boomed, his face painting red with anger. "I have the scythe."

"You are nothing." Rhaast walked forward towards Zed, his size enough to make any sane man flee for safety. And as if a wave of intelligence came over Zed, her scrambled away from Rhaast and leaped back onto the stage, scythe still in hand.

"I'll kill her." Zed grabbed Petra's scalp once more, the scythe's blade now pressed against her cheek.

"And I will kill you." Rhaast's voice was deep and echoed throughout the courtyard as he stepped forward onto the first step of the stage.

Then in an obvious moment of panic, Zed pushed Petra off the stage with the head of the scythe. She tumbled down to the cold water of the pond and splashed into the water, hands still bound, eyes still covered. Rhaast felt a twinge of urgency as the girl slowly floated to the surface. He watched as she kicked her feet wildly, doing her best to stay above the water with bound hands.

"Kayn!" She called out again, her voice laced with terror.

"Fool." Rhaast now had to choose which direction he would go. Would he kill Zed and end this? Or dive into the water to rescue Petra?

"Does the demon have feelings for the girl, too? How queer." Zed was laughing, his eyes only showed bits of insanity as he stepped forward to the witch that bound Kayn and Rhaast. He held the scythe to her neck and in one swift movement sliced her pale skin. Katarina cried out from the back, she darted forward with Soraka and headed for the stage.

 _Rhaast, leave me. Go to the scythe, we need to stop this. He'll kill them all._ Kayn spoke to Rhaast.

"It might kill him." Rhaast boomed, "It will be I killing him, not you. Is this what you want?"

 _Leave me!_


	40. Chapter 40

Petra felt a nudge at her back and she slipped forward and tumbled off of the stage. A scream escaped her lips as she toppled over and crashed into the ice cold water below. Her hands were bound behind her back, her eyes still covered. Without being able to see or have knowledge of where she was, Petra wasn't able to conjure any crystals… Not that they would even help her right now. But, for some reason, as her body sank beneath the surface of the freezing cold koi pond all she could think about was her crystals.

 _Maybe the crystals will save me, maybe the crystals will help. Kayn certainly isn't helping. He doesn't care, I'm a fool for thinking he cared.  
_  
Her mind was moving a mile a minute, and it wasn't until her lungs began to sting from the lack of oxygen that Petra realized the severity of her situation. Petra gasped for air, and instead inhaled water, her burning lungs turning cold from the freezing liquid. She did her best to kick her way to the surface, her lips finally feeling the comfort of the winter air. She coughed up the water and gasped once more.

"Kayn!" She called out again, her body moving frantically in effort to keep afloat.

" _Leave me!_ " Petra heard Kayn yell before she slipped under the surface again. She kicked up, but this time Petra was met with a hard barrier that prevented her from reaching the air's safety. Something was holding her under the surface, and as she struggled to find a way to the air she was continuously pushed back under. Her lungs filled with water again, and this time she began to sink almost as if the liquid inside of her had made itself an anchor at the bottom of the pond. This was it, and she knew it. She was not confident in Kayn; That if given the choice to kill Zed or save her, he would choose the glory of murdering Zed every time.

As Petra's body rested at the bottom of the pond, her lungs still stinging as they shriveled up insider her chest, her mind jumped to the day Kayn rescued her. She now _cursed him for it._

 _._

 _._

In one swift movement Zed pushed Petra off the stage. Kayn watched as her body hit the cold water of the koi pond, the fish scattering from the splash. She plunged deep down to the bottom and began to rise back to the top. At first she began to swim to the edge, her face slowly turning blue from the cold. But then Kayn noticed something terrifyingly odd... the edges of the pond began to ice over and slowly the hard surface extended out to the middle of the water. His eyes frantically traced along the pond and he spotted a witch who was being forced to aid the order. She seemed to be dipping her hand into the water to create the ice. They were trying to freeze her under the surface. Zed was trying to drown Petra.

Kayn struggled from under his own moral's grasp, his body twisting and contorting as Rhaast left him. He cried out in anger; The doubt that had waved over his mind earlier about committing to Petra was immediately erased as he quickly realized he did in fact love her. The moment she hit the water his heart wrenched in pain at the sheer thought of loosing the one person he had allowed in.

Kayn watched as the ice extended further and further over the water, and then as Petra was pushed under its surface. The ice sewed itself together creating an almost unnoticeable seam, and Petra was no where to be seen under it's translucent surface.

Kayn glanced up at Zed who's skin was now suffering under Rhaast's possession. He watched as Zed tried to fight Rhaast, holding the scythe tightly in his hands, clueless to the fact that simply dropping the weapon would release him from the demon.

"You can not beat us, fool!" Rhaast boomed from Zed's lips. "You will _suffer_."

Kayn was frantic, it was now that he truly has to choose between killing Zed or saving Petra. Every moment he stood indecisive was another moment that Petra was drowning. His eyes flew back to Zed one last time, he watched as Rhaast still fought to take over the powerful assassin's mind and body. And then, almost as if Rhaast had some sort of care for the girl, he called out.

"SAVE HER, YOU IDIOT!"

Kayn leaped over the edge of the pond, his knees sliding across the ice until he was in the center of the water. His body had returned to it's normal human state, and he knew that what he was about to do would likely be the most painful thing he'd ever done. He glanced over to the witch who was still being held against her will, he watched as the ice slowly grew thicker and thicker. With a swift movement, Kayn punched the hard ice beneath him. His hands were already numb from the rain and hale, and at first punching the ice only felt like cold pressure. As he reared his arm back and laid another punch to the hard surface the skin on his knuckled started to peel back, blood gushing from the wounds.

"Rhaast!" Kayn cried, rearing back and laying another punch into the now red ice. "Stop the witch!"

 _._

 _._

Rhaast staggered forward, still fighting Zed for his body. He leaped off the stage, Zed's body a mess of red and human. He trudged forward towards the men who held the ice witch down into the water and he swung the scythe back, hitting them all away from the witch. He lifted her to her feet and with a deep voice managed out to the terrified witch " _Leave! Now!_ " Rhaast still struggled to take over Zed's body, and Zed had leaped up onto the ice and was fighting to make his way towards Kayn.

 _._

 _._

The ice stopped forming and finally as Kayn's fists pounded repeatedly into the surface, the skin on his knuckles completely torn away, his bone's showing beneath the oozing crimson, the ice began to break. He ignored the awful pain of his bone slamming into the seemingly impossible surface and still reared back over and over again, the blood splattering across his own face and all over the ice around him. As he broke through to the water below, the cold liquid numbed his hands once more and he pounded at the surface even harder until the ice had broken away and formed a hole. Then just as Kayn was about to dive beneath the surface to rescue Petra, he was yanked back.

"Your demon is no match for me." Zed called out from right behind him. The scythe slammed down into the ice next to Kayn and a long crack extended from the hole towards them.

"Rhaast!" Kayn called out "Come back to me!" He rolled and brought himself to his feet, his body stiff and almost frozen from the cold now.

"I-C-an-t." Rhaast growled from within Zed "H-e's too- st-rong." Kayn watched as Rhaast still swam about inside of Zed, but as Zed grasped the scythe in his palms the traces of Rhaast vanished.

" _Impossible._ " Kayn hissed.

Zed slammed the scythe again into the ice and it cracked more, this time breaking away into chunks, separating the two by freezing water.

"You're nothing, Sheida Kayn." Zed boomed, his voice lower than normal.

"The gi-rl!" Rhaast managed out, and in that exact moment Kayn dove into the freezing water, his body immediately numbing to the cold. His eyes struck open and searched the bottom of the pond for Petra. By now it was likely too late, but he still frantically looked for her. He heard a splash come from above him and he glanced over his shoulder to see Zed fighting with himself, the scythe still in hand. He looked to be clawing at his own chest, his finger tips like long talons. The water stained red around him as blood began to come from his wounds.

Kayn again turned his focus to finding Petra, and as he swam deeper and deeper, his own chest burning as he held his breath, he spotted her lifeless body as it hauntingly drifted at the bottom of the pond. He slipped an arm around her torso and pulled her up, her weight seeming to have tripled. He kicked hard as he lifted her to the surface, his eyes now focused on Zed who was still clawing at himself.

As Kayn kicked past Zed, he felt a hand grab onto his ankle. His eyes darted down to the assassin's hand, his red eyes glowing bright in the dark and bloodied water. He seemed to yell soothing, bubbles coming from his mouth. Kayn kicked at Zed and landed his foot into his face hard enough to make him let go.

When Kayn reached the surface he swam to the edge of the pond and hoisted Petra's lifeless body to the ground. Quickly, before Zed could pull him back in, he scrambled out of the water and rolled Petra over on her back. Soraka and Katarina ran forward and began trying to resuscitate Petra, but her skin was cold and blue. He removed the blindfold from her eyes to find them frozen shut, and he leaned in close to her and breathed into her mouth, sending air into her lungs. Soraka's hand were held against Petra's chest, they glowed with her healing magic. Seconds went by but felt like minutes. He continued to keep breathing air into her lungs, his bloodied knuckled dripping across her pale, icy skin.

"No, no!" He yelled "Don't fucking die on me!" Kayn was frantic, his hands shaking as he tried to shake her body, as if she were only sleeping.

"You die now, Sheida Kayn." Zed boomed from behind him. He had managed out of the water, his skin flushed of all traces of Rhaast.

"You son of a bitch!" Kayn leaped to his feet and darted at Zed. Normally he'd have thought tactfully of his next move, but in a fit of rage and emotion he landed a bloody fist against Zed's nose. He pulled his arm back and punched again at Zed's ribs. To his demise, the assassin only laughed.

"It's over." Zed's eyes flickered, patches of red skin forming and fading. _Rhaast was still there._

"No. It's not." Kayn stood up straight and stepped back. His body was almost frozen, moving was difficult and his nervous system was shutting down. It was the end of the line, on of them would die now. He could feel it coming.

"Rhaast..." Kayn called out, his voice tired and unsteady. "Hit me. _Kill me!_ " Kayn called out, his body growing weaker and weaker. Without the demon he fell to his knees, his morality getting the best of him.

"No!" Rhaast boomed from Zed's lips.

"You have to!" Kayn cried "Do it now!"

Then everything went silent. Kayn shut his eyes and couldn't hear the crowd, he couldn't hear Soraka and Katarina calling out to Petra, pleading with her to wake up. He couldn't hear Zed nor could he hear Rhaast. In the moment he felt pure solace, a release from the war he had just fought. He thought of nothing for just that second, and then his eyes flicked open and fell down to the scythe the was lodged within his his shoulder. It cut deep into his body, straight down to his chest.

Kayn's hands traced the blade of the weapon that was sticking from his body like a fork in steak. A grin swept across his face as his tired eyes glanced up to Zed who stood in shock, his left arm literally falling from his body. He fell to his knees right before Kayn, blood pooling around the two of them as the stared into each other's eyes.

"H-how?" Zed grunted, his other hand grabbing at his raw and open body.

Kayn laughed wickedly, blood spilling from his lips as grinned. "We both knew it would end like this." He whispered, his hand yanking the scythe out of his shoulder. Everything was still silent, and as the blood flooded from his body everything seemed to glow white. He watched Zed fall forward, his face hitting the ground before him. With the last bit of might Kayn had left he lifted the scythe and landed it's heavy blade into Zed's skull, the sound of bone cracking rang in his ears like music.

Kayn, too, fell forward. He landed on top of Zed and as he laid in the mess of blood and brain he couldn't help but smile. His eyes shut and he felt himself drifting away in silence.

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _What do you think you're doing?_ Rhaast echoed from inside Kayn's mind. _I'm still here, and so are you._ The demon spoke. Then, like life had been breathed into him from the heavens above, Kayn's eyes struck open and air flowed into his lungs like a train off it's tracks. His eyes adjusted and focused on the world around him. The courtyard was left empty and red with blood, and the crowd seemed to have dispersed once the fight was over, uncaring for what the damage was and who had died. He gasped for air again, the cold of winter stinging his lungs.

"He's alive!" Katarina called out. Her voice was muffled, but it slowly came into focus.

"Kayn!" A familiar voice rang in his ears like music "Kayn!"

He was rolled over from Zed's dead body and as his eyes met the moon above, they fell to his side to see a familiar face.

Kayn exhaled, true solace taking over his body so much stronger than the demon ever had or ever could. Her voice brought the quiet after the storm, and for the first time in his life he felt truly calm.

"Petra..."

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 **\- FIN -**


	41. STORY UPDATE!

WRITER'S NOTE:

Hi, all! It's been some time since I've finished this fanfic and I'm pleased with everyone's feedback! I'm happy to know most of you enjoyed my story. I wanted to let anyone still following or even currently reading know that there is a copy of this story on my Wattpad. I've been re-reading and editing the story as I go. No major changes to the actual plot, really only correcting grammar, spelling mistakes, and some jumbled sentences I wrote at 3am. There was, however, a change to Petra's appearance. I had some custom art made of her and so I changed her up just a little bit to fit the art. (She know has black hair.) On my Wattpad you can read the edited story as well as find the images that go along with each chapter.

I do intend on making a second part to this story, and writing will likely begin shortly after I've edited this story. Because of how is set up, I've chosen not to update the story here as doing so is MUCH more complicated than it needs to be. I invite all of you to read the updated version of Kayn's Prodigy on Wattpad and hang around to start reading book two.

I do intend on putting book two up on , however I will not do so until the story is completed in it's entirety. It will be posted as a very long one shot, I'd imagine.

If you have any questions or just wish to contact me, I'd recommend doing so over Wattpad.

Thank you again for reading my story, and I hope you all enjoy the very minor changes and the new book.

My Wattpad username is ReneStPierre

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